Spiritual experiences of family members to cope with the challenges of childhood disability: A Qualitative study in Iran

BACKGROUND: If we take the family as a circle, the disabled child is in the center of the circle and weights on all communications in the family. Therefore, in this research, the experiences of all family members are studied. The knowledge about families' experiences helps the caregivers to have a deep recognition of family status and individual and social relations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a phenomenological study. Participants were Iranian families with disabled child and were selected by a goal-oriented sampling. Data collection was done through an unstructured interview. Interviews were transcript based. Data analysis was done by Colaizzi's method. Codes were extracted from the interviews and then the main concepts were formed by organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes. RESULTS: Data were being compiled from the 18-h interview tapes and the verbatim transcription of the interviews with the 12 study participants. Then, the researchers formulated the meanings of each significant statement into 65 codes and organized the formulated meanings into following four clusters of themes: 1 – protective structure, 2 – adjustment, 3 – social isolation, 4 – psychological tension. CONCLUSION: The existence of a disabled child may lead to psychological and spiritual distress and vast changes in every aspect of each member of the family.