|
Aniela Płotka, Marzena Antosz THE PARENTAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS BIRTH PALSY CHILDREN
Abstract The problem of families with a cerebral palsy child is very complex and extensive. A very important issue are the attitudes that parents assume towards their birth palsy children. The attitudes can be two-fold, namely positive or appropriate and negative or inappropriate. The main aim of this research is the investigation of attitudes parents exhibit towards their birth palsy children. The present study employs the questionnaire by Maria Ziemska, which has been designed for the purpose of analyzing the attitudes of mothers and fathers towards their children. The questionnaire measures four types of attitude: domination over the child, emotional focus, helplessness in child upbringing and distance. The study was conducted in January and February of 2002 in the Rehabilitation-Therapeutic Centre for Handicapped Children in Bilgoraj. It covered 30 families that bring up birth palsy children. The children attend the Day Care Section or the Outpatients Section. In most cases the parents assume negative attitudes towards their birth palsy children, with a significant domination of such attitudes in the fathers. The mothers and fathers are not able to manage the young, handicapped human appropriately, they lack competence in dealing with the upbringing issues. Such negative attitudes in both parents are alarming. It is necessary to implement remedial means towards such parents in the form of extensive assistance and support that will in effect help them adopt appropriate attitudes and love their child the way it is. Key words: parental attitudes, birth/cerebral palsy children
Family is the primary environment available to the child in its development. Every family is characterized by the way all its members approach and influence the child. Nowadays, in nuclear families, only the parents have a bearing upon the methods of child upbringing. They follow the behaviour patterns that they have experienced themselves in their own family homes or what they have noticed in other people’s ways of solving problems [4]. The role and significance of the family unit increases when a handicapped child appears in it. It is the parents who provide the child with various patterns of behaviour, they fulfill its needs and stimulate its development. Parents assume different types of attitudes towards their children with which they influence and modify their behaviour [1,2,4]. The term ”parental attitude” requres a further subdivision and typology. Generally speaking, such attitudes can be divided into positive – appropriate and negative – inappropriate [6–8]. It is estimated that currently there are about 40–50 thousand physically handicapped children in Poland. More than a half of those, which is approximately 20–25 thousand, are the birth palsy cases. The birth palsy child can be born in any family, regardless of its financial situation or social status. The diversity and complexity of the birth palsy symptoms causes that the children with this condition require a multiprofile, specialistic and continuous medical care [3,5]. The main aim of this research is the investigation of attitudes parents exhibit towards their birth palsy children. Materials and methods The present study employs the questionnaire by Maria Ziemska, which has been designed for the purpose of analyzing the attitudes of mothers and fathers towards their children. The questionnaire measures four types of attitude: domination over the child, amotional focus, helplessness in child upbringing and distance. Each of the scales produces the following results: low, which represent the desired attitudes in child upbringing, high, which testify to the undesirable angle in the parent-child attitude and average, which also demonstrate undesirable tendencies in a given attitude. The parents should fill in the questionnaire individually, without any invfluence on the questioner’s part. The results each scale produces should be interpreted separately, which means that different scales’ results must not be summed up. The study was conducted in January and February of 2002 in the Rehabilitation-Therapeutic Centre for Handicapped Children in Bilgoraj. It covered 30 families that bring up birth palsy children. The children attend the Day Care Section or the Outpatients Section. The Day Care Section has in its care children aged 3–8. It provides them with access to a complex rehabilitation and revalidation programme. Whereas the Outpatients Section delivers care to children aged 1 month to 18 years and provides them with specialistic care which is profiled according to the individual needs of each child. The research results Generally, the research has focused on 30 families who bring up the birth palsy children and use the care of the Rehabilitation-Therapeutic Centre for Handiccaped Children in Bilgoraj. The age of the mothers under study was the following: there were 9 mothers, aged 25–30 and 31–35, in each of the two age groups, which constitutes 30,0% of the whole number. 8 women fell into the 36–40 age group (27,7%), while 3 women were in the 41–45 age group, which is 10,0%. Only one mother represented the 46–50 years of age group. The age of the fathers had a slightly different distribution. The most fathers, namely 10, were in the age group of 41–45, which constitutes 33,3% of the whole number. There were 7 fathers aged 31–35 and 36–40 in each of the two groups (33,3%). Subsequently, 4 of them fell into the 25–30 years of age group (13,4%) and 2 into the group of 46–50 years old. It must be stressed that the level of the parents’ education plays an important role in the family functioning. The level of education in a sense determines the social standing of the family and its life style. The education of the mothers and fathers under study is demonstrated in table I. Table I. The parents’ level of education
The data from table I. demonstrate that the parents with vocational education constitute the clear-cut majority of 46,6%. The second group of parents are those with secondary education level in the number of 26,6%. The parents with the higher education level, on the other hand, were in the minority of 13,4% of the whole number of respondents. The social status of the parents is represented in the table below: Table II. The parents’ social status
The analysis of the data from the above table reveals that the most mothers, in the number of 63,3% have the working class background, while only 10% fall into the intelligentsia class. Among the fathers, the greatest number are of the peasant class (46,6%), while 40,0% belong to the working class. Out of the 30 families under study 12 lived in the rural area while 18 in the urban environment. The sex and age of the sick children are another group of factors shaping the parents’ attitudes. Fig. 1. The sex of the birth palsy children. As it appears from the above chart, the boys are in the slight majority.
The results of the conducted analysis point to the fact that 50,0% of the birth palsy children were in the lower primary school age. The higher age group children are from higher primary school grades, of specialistic or integrative profile. The present work’s analysis covered the increased tendencies in the parental attitudes towards the birth palsy children by employing the questionnaire designed by Maria Ziemska. The questionnaire analyses the following attitudes: · domination over the child · helplessness towards the child · focus on the child · distance from the child The first of the attitudes under analysis is that of the domination over the child. The characteristic feature of this attitude type is the caution in the parents’ behaviour. Additionally, they tend to impose limitations, exhibit and implement various forms of punishment, with alternate intensity, from seemingly mild to severe or even brutal. The dominating attitude can also testify to their ability to control the child without using excessive force or power, which, however, depends on the intensity of this attitude pattern. Table III. The dominating attitude in parents
The data from the above table show that 60,0% of the questioned mothers and 33,3% of the fathers demonstrate an average domination. It means that the parents accentuate their domination over the child and have a tendency to disregard the child’s signals. The average intensity is uninvited as far as the child’s upbringing is concerned since it can easily increase in strength and become high level domination. The high domination level was discovered in 20,0% of the mothers and 46,7% of the fathers. This reveals an unquestionably authoritarian attitude towards the cerebral palsy children. The parents do not respect the child’s opinion, feelings and needs. Often they lose temper and punish the child severely. They openly express their disapproval towards the child and admit their desire to get rid of it. The whole situation is additionally worsened by the parent’s ambition to quicken the child’s development and their overemphasized expectations concerning the child’s achievements. They tend to impose their own opinion and overtly criticize the child’s behaviour as well as eliminate all its endeavours. 20,0% of the mothers and fathers have scored low on the domination scale, which represents the positive attitude towards the child. Those parents respect the child, care for its needs and desires and are able to monitor it without exerting their mental or physical power. They are open to the child’s signals, they have a lot of patience and are ready to provide it with all the necessary explanations. The second type of attitude under analysis was the parent’s helplessness towards their child. It was characterized by their inability to manage the child’s upbringing and education. The parents are often powerless towards their offspring’s problems, which may stem from their inability to read its signals. Apart from that, the parent’s helplessness may be the cause of their inefficiency or ineptitude to monitor the child. Their demands of the child are rare and expressed very leniently, which turns the helplessness into submissiveness to the child. The attitude of helplessness in the questioned parents is presented in the following table: Table IV. The attitude of helplessness in parents
The data from the above table reveal that most parents are helpless in relation to their children. 30,0% of the mothers and 50,0% of the fathers are in the high level of helplessness. Those parents feel significant vulnerability towards the problems they face in life. They cannot manage the child and solve the problems connected with the child upbringing. As far as the average level is concerned, both fathers and mothers have produced identical result of 36,6%. In those parents the helplessness, which is at the average level, can increase under unfavourable conditions. The moderate attitude of helplessness also denotes the undesirable parental attitude. Very few fathers from the analysed group, in the number of 13,4%, demonstrate low level of helplessness. This number is much greater in the case of the mothers as 33,3% of them turn out to be low in the scale. Those parents assume a positive attitude towards the child with cerebral palsy. It is important to stress that attitude of focus demonstrates itself with the feeling of anxiety, tension, over-protectiveness and interference in whatever activities the child undertakes. Such a type of attitude also denotes excessive demands put for the child, the need for inseparability and the level of absorption that results in subordination of all everyday life activities to the child. The parents zealously devote their time to their offspring to the point that they will interrupt any activity once the child happens to come in sight. Such an attitude may cause a delayed social and emotional development in the child and promote its meekness and passivity. The results of the attitude of focus are presented in following table: Table V. The parental attitude of focus on the child
The results presented in the table show that 30,0% of the mothers have the low-scale focus, while the number of fathers reaches only 6,7% in this respect. Those parents demonstrate a calm and balanced emotional attitude towards the offspring, without any special tension or exaggerated care. They accept the cerebral palsy child and provide it with reasonable freedom. This is the correct approach. The child is more trustful and ready to cooperate, aware of the fact that it can always count on its parents. On the other hand, 30,0% of the mothers and 26,7% of the fathers have the high--scale focus. This testifies to the exaggerated concentration on the child. These parents tend to be over-protective towards the offspring, they greatly for its health and only see the potential dangers, particularly concerning the everyday life. The little person is often kept in isolation from its peers, he or she is not given a chance to do anything unaided, there is always someone around to give a helping hand. Every step the child takes is monitored. The cerebral palsy child is brought up as if wrapped in a cocoon to isolate it from the outside world. The average focus score was achieved by 40,0% of the mothers and 66,6% of the fathers. They consitute the largest group among all the respondents, which means that the intensified focus on the child appears to be at the average level. The parents in this group have a tendency towards expressing exaggerated care and they experience prolonged states of anxiety and tension. They have a need for sacrifice and maintaining excessively long contact with the child. By doing so, they visibly limit the child’s freedom. They underrate its practical skills. Similarly to the high-focus parents, they tend to relieve the child of practically any activity, only to a slightly lesser extent. They tolerate the child’s fads and mischievous behaviour, they satisfy all its whims to the effect that the child starts to dominate them. Having analysed the data according to the scope of parental focus on the cerebral palsy child, it is conclusive to say that the parents demonstrate inappropriate modes of behaviour as far as the child upbringing is concerned. The last type of attitude under analysis was the distance towards the child. This attitude represents a lack of contact with the offspring, a lack of warmth and affection in the immediate relationship with the child as well as the excessive distance between it and its parents. The interpersonal contact with the child is unpleasant to the parents, it brings no satisfaction or fulfillment. The parents are often negligent towards their offspring, they avoid it or even push it away because they consider the contact to be something wrong or unbearable. The exaggerated emotional distance does not satisfy the need for affection in the child, it deprives it of the natural bond with the parents which in effect may lead to the partial or complete block in the development of higher level emotions and resulting inability to create permanent bonds. The levels of intensity in the distance between the mothers, fathers and their handicapped offspring are presented in the following table: Table VI. The distance in the parents towards the child
The analysis of the above results reveals that 43,3% of the mothers and 6,7% of the fathers demonstrate the low level distance which means that they have a close relationship with the child, based on the unrestrained exchanged of feelings. The parents accept the child as it is. The interpersonal contact is full of love, warmth and affection. In the cases of the child’s misbehaviour or disobedience, the parents will only punish it for those particular instances of insubordination, instead of rejecting the child as a whole. They try to recognize and fulfill the offspring’s needs. The average distance level has been observed in 33,3% of the mothers and 43,3% of the fathers. Such a result denotes a tendency to approach the child with reserve. They express their feelings towards the child with limitation, which is near to rejection. The seemingly casual and good relationship with the child combined with the emotional scarcity are often camouflaged by showering the child with gifts, excess freedom or apparent permissiveness. The high distance level has been discovered in 23,4% of the mothers and as many as 50,0% of the fathers. It testifies to a powerful lack of contact with the birth palsy child to the point of rejection which causes anger and aggression. These parents exhibit overt carelessness, complete lack of responsibility and manifest ignorance towards the child. They minimize the immediate contact with the the offspring, they are neglectful and inconsistent in their demands of the child. Often their negligence will jeopardize the child’s safety. This type of attitude is additionally characterized by the unconcern on the parents’ part to include the child in everyday household activities. They dismiss any attempt of the child to establish the interpersonal contact. In conclusion it can be stated that according to the distance scale results most parents assume negative attitudes towards their children. Conclusion 1. The surveyed parents in most cases dominate over their cerebral palsy child. They limit its freedom, tend to be severe or even ruthless. 2. The mothers and fathers are not able to manage the young, handicapped human appropriately, they lack competence in dealing with the upbringing issues. 3. The questioned parents are over-protective towards the child. In the upbringing process they are full of anxiety, tension or their demands of the child are unreasonable. 4. The parents do not have the emotional contact with the cerebral palsy child. They don’t express their love, warmth and affection towards the child and often neglect it. On the basis of the results achieved in this study, it is justifiable to claim that the parents of the handicapped children ought to be provided with sufficient help in order to change their negative attitudes in the child upbringing process into the positive ones. Offering support to the parents of the cerebral palsy child in the early stages of its development as well as providing them with various forms of co-operation will undoubtedly help them overcome the emotional crisis and cause their parental attitudes to evolve in the positive direction for the benefit of both parents and children. They must be given the helping hand since all children are ours. REFERENCES [1] Borzykowska H.: The Handicapped Child in the Falimy [in:] Alulek A.: Revalidation Pedagogy, PWN, Warszawa 1986.– [2] Góralczyk E.: The Child’s Illness in Your Life. The Methodical Centre of Psychological and Pedagogical Help MEN, Warszawa 1996.– [3] Levitt S.: Rehabilitation in Cerebral Palsy and Motor Handicap, PZWL, Warszawa 2000.– [4] Obuchowska I.: The Han-dicapped Child in the Family, WSiP, Warszawa 1995.– [5] Płotka A.: Zimmer Frame for Cerebral Palsy Children. The Nurse and Midwife, 1997, 9.– [6] Twardowski A.: Handicapped Children’s Family Situation. [in:] Obuchowska I.: The Handicapped Child in the Family, WsiP, Warszawa 1995.– [7] Ziemska M.: The Parental Attitudes, Wiedza Powszechna, Warszawa 1973.– [8] Ziemska M.: The Parental Attitudes and their Influence upon the Child’s Personality. [in:] Ziemska M.: The Family and the Child, PWN, Warszawa 1986.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aby cytować ten artykuł: A. Płotka, M. Antosz, The parental attitudes towards birth palsy children, [in:] L. Niebrój, M. Kosińska, Rodzina: dziecko i jego potrzeby zdrowotne, Eukrasia vol. 2, Wyd. ŚAM, Katowice 2003, s. 139-146 |
