Self-concepts of parents with a child of school age with a severe intellectual disability

Abstract

The self-concepts of Hong Kong Chinese parents with a child of school age with severe intellectual disability were explored. A 20-item Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Inventory (ASSEI) and open-ended questions on self-evaluation and interviewing were adopted as the major procedures to identify the source and basis of their self-conceptions. One hundred and nine parents - 35 males and 74 females, aged 31 to 45 - participated in this study. The results indicated that the participants showed similar life priorities as the control group (parents of non-handicapped children). However, the participants showed significantly lower concept of self than the control group in most areas of life. An exploratory factor-analytic result showed that the parents’ concept of self had a one-dimensional structure, which might indicate the parents’ lack variety in their life. An analysis of the contents of the open-ended responses showed that family and work were the most important domains of the concept of self. However, most of the respondents stated that poor family relationships, the health problems of their child, and work and financial problems made them ‘feel bad’.