Exploring resilience among low-income African American families with a young adult member with mild mental retardation

To reduce the negative stigma of caring for a child with a developmentally disabled family member, researchers have begun to look with a more positive lens at families’ experiences of living with a child with a disability. Although positive impacts have been reported among white middle class populations, culturally diverse populations living in poverty have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to develop a theory describing the lived experiences and resiliency of low-income African American families having a young adult member with mild mental retardation. By gaining a greater understanding of the unique strengths possessed by these families, professionals can more effectively intervene with and advocate for them.;Two low-income African American families caring for a young adult with mild mental retardation were interviewed for this study. A series of twelve individual and four family group interviews were conducted and the data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. From this analysis, a theory about the resilience of these families was developed depicting an intricate process by which the participating families created shared beliefs, communications styles and constructed meanings about the adversities they experienced. This theory was composed of three major dimensions: overarching beliefs, collaborative communication, and positive meaning making.;The theory that emerged from this study expands on existing family resilience theory by depicting the distinctive beliefs, communication patterns and efforts to reframing adversity that characterize the strengths of these low income African American families. The results of this study affirm the need for professionals to learn about the unique resources possessed by low-income African American families caring for a young adult with mild mental retardation and to use those resources in planning a course of treatment.