The concerns of mothers of female youth with physical disabilities in transitioning to adulthood: A qualitative study.
Courtney S Streur, Jodi M Kreschmer, Peace Asumadu and 3 others
PMID 42084417WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers of girls with physical disabilities worry most about independence, empowerment, relationships, health, and legal adulthood.
They use patience and outside support for skills, but feel helpless against stigma and insurance barriers. This highlights needs for transition planning and social work support.
Key findings
01Mothers identified five main concerns: maximizing independence in life skills, achieving empowerment, developing meaningful relationships, maintaining good health, and successfully transitioning to legal adulthood.
02Mothers used strategies like patience, prompting, and recruiting doctors or occupational therapists to help daughters learn self-care, especially when daughters lacked motivation for independence in tasks like toileting.
03Mothers struggled to find coping strategies for structural barriers, such as disability stigma affecting education and work, lack of accessible adult programs, and insurance changes that could restrict benefits.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Findings reflect only mothers who chose to participate, potentially missing perspectives of those who declined. The sample was limited to mothers of daughters with spina bifida or cerebral palsy, so results may not apply to other physical disabilities. Race, demographics, and family structures were not assessed, limiting generalizability across diverse populations. The study captures mothers' perspectives, which may differ from the concerns of the youth themselves.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these themes as evidence that specific interventions work. This study describes mothers' perceptions and coping strategies to inform future intervention development, but it does not test any treatment or measure clinical outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →