Resilience cycles: a grounded theory study of the experiences of resilience in mothers who have children with an autism spectrum disorder.

Bishop, Alison (2022) Resilience cycles: a grounded theory study of the experiences of resilience in mothers who have children with an autism spectrum disorder. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Traditional views of resilience have described it in terms of risk and protective factors plus processes, that enable individuals to resist or quickly recover from adversity to achieve a positive outcome. This has led to a conceptualisation of resilience as being a linear, binary construct with some people being considered resilient and others not resilient. Despite this, there is no consensus of agreement as to the definition, operationalisation, or measurement of resilience (Ahern, Kiehl, Sole, & Byers, 2006; Jew, Green & Kroger, 1999). This research explores the experiences of resilience in mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As an incurable lifelong condition diagnosed from behavioural symptoms, ASD offers an opportunity to study an enduring chronically challenging situation for the mothers to overcome. This study uses a qualitative methodology approach, with a constructivist grounded theory method, due to its strong idiographic focus on exploring what a specific group of people do, as well as it’s theory construction potential. Findings demonstrate that all seventeen participants were resilient, as each of them continued to function as mothers to their children despite extreme challenges. Furthermore, resilience in these mothers was demonstrated to be a non-linear circular process, with each part of the process juxtaposed between the past adversity and a future potential adversity. The participants also had a signature way of responding to adversity that was different to the other participants but congruent within themselves. The implications of these findings, provide a kinder conceptualisation of resilience that hopefully will affect the way that people who have experienced adversity are treated.

Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorder, constructivist grounded theory, mothering, resilience, wellbeing.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	19 Oct 2023 13:06
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 13:06
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93376
DOI:

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