CHRONIC SORROW IN MOTHERS OF ADULT CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY by

Chronic sorrow has been defined as a permanent and reoccurring experience of pervasive sadness and loss which underlies the life experience and which recurs over time for the parent of a child with developmental, medical, or behavior issues that prevent him from participating in society in a way previously anticipated by parents. The functional question asked of the mothers was: “Some parents have described a sadness that can occur when they think about their child with a disability. Parents can believe they are functioning well, but have times where they feel the loss for their child. ” To date, little research has targeted chronic sorrow among parents of adult children who have a disability. Neither is it known how chronic sorrow exists and has changed over the years since the initial diagnosis for this specific sample. This exploratory, qualitative study focused specifically on mothers of adult children with cerebral palsy. Snowball sampling was utilized to recruit six mothers in northeastern Kansas who were primary caregivers to their adult children with CP. Data were gathered with face-to-face mixed self-report surveys, including the Kendall Questionnaire on Chronic Sorrow; two surveys which assessed demographic, potential complications from cerebral palsy, and availabl