| The primary objective of this study was to identify family-level meanings that parents develop while living with and caring for their preadolescent child with cerebral palsy. Using secondary data obtained from the Project Resilience study, narratives from 15 two-parent families were analyzed using a qualitative heuristic method of inquiry.;Family theories in which meanings are a central construct for understanding family interaction and behavior informed this study. These included symbolic interaction, the ABC-X model of family stress (Hill, 1949), the contextual model of family stress (Boss, 2002) and the family adjustment and adaptation response (FAAR) model (Patterson, 1988).;Study findings revealed three major themes consistent with the levels of meanings in the FAAR model (Patterson, 1988): situational meanings, family identity, and family world view. Among several others, situational meanings included parent appraisals about demands of their life situation, such as issues of daily living and uncertainty in how to balance competing demands. Parent appraisals also included capabilities for managing demands. These included personal resources such as focusing on the positive qualities of their child with cerebral palsy, family resources, such as open spousal communication and community resources, such as support received from doctors, friends and others.;Their identify as a family was shaped by the experience of having a child with cerebral palsy and varied from striving to be a normal family to having a family identity determined by their child's needs, or one that involved advanced planning lacking in spontaneity, or one where being together as a whole family unit defined their identity.;At the level of family world view, parents shared an optimistic and realistic view of their life situation. They preferred living in the present and saw their children with cerebral palsy as an opportunity for self-growth and development. They expressed certain shared goals and purposes as a family.;Findings from the study are discussed relative to prior research and in terms of future family research and theory building. Implications for families living with children with chronic health conditions and for the health care providers and professionals who work with them are discussed. |
