The concerns of mothers of female youth with physical disabilities in transitioning to adulthood: A qualitative study

PurposeMothers of female youth with a physical disability experience stress as their child prepares for adulthood. Interventions that promote parental coping are needed to better support families. This study sought to identify the concerns and coping strategies of mothers of female youth with physical disabilities to inform a family-centered intervention.MethodsOne-on-one semi-structured interviews probed mothers' concerns and coping strategies as their daughters with physical disabilities prepared for adulthood. Dual review of de-identified transcripts was used to identify relevant themes using interpretive phenomenological analysis.ResultsTwenty-one mothers of daughters with physical disabilities participated. Five overarching themes describing mothers' concerns for their daughters emerged. Mothers were concerned about barriers in helping their daughters 1) maximize independence in life skills, 2) achieve empowerment, 3) develop meaningful relationships, 4) maintain good health, and 5) successfully transition to legal adulthood. Mothers described coping strategies to address these concerns, including intentionality and persistence in teaching their daughters new skills, surrounding their daughters with affirming adults, and adapting their own goals.ConclusionsMothers' concerns centered around how barriers, biases, and lived experiences challenged their life goals for their daughters. Nonetheless, they identified several coping strategies to overcome most of these concerns.