Family “Bonding”:Social Integration Mechanism Of Mentally Disabled Persons In Ethnic Areas

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out that the development of the cause of the disabled should be comprehensively promoted.The disabled group is an important part of our shared social development results.Due to its particularity,it is often in the peripheral position of society.The disabled in ethnic areas need to pay attention to it.Social integration is an important goal and principle for the development of the cause of disabled persons both at home and abroad.Promoting social integration of disabled persons helps all members of society share the fruits of social development.Individuals with disabilities may be disconnected from society,but they are closely connected to their families.Family is the most important source of social support for the disabled,plays an important caring function,and promotes the integration of disabled individuals into society.Families of the disabled in ethnic areas have strong ethnic characteristics,habits and culture,and their caring function is also featured in promoting the social integration of the disabled.In addition,with the gradual acceleration of urbanization,the traditional family care function has been affected to varying degrees and gradually weakened.The family care function of the disabled still maintains a high level,especially the families of the mentally disabled in ethnic areas,still play an important role in promoting the social integration of the disabled.This study takes "individual-family-society" as the research framework,based on the situation field of family care for the mentally disabled in ethnic areas,and uses the social support theory to analyze and discuss.Through fieldwork,we observe and present the daily life of mentally disabled families in ethnic areas,the interaction between mentally disabled individuals and family members,systematically analyze the important role played by families in the process of integration of mentally disabled individuals with society,and summarize the family bonding mechanism of social integration of mentally disabled individuals in ethnic areas.The study found that,first,people with mental retardation depend on family care,and their main activities in the family can be summarized as living,communication,and skill training,as well as folk beliefs about "healing" in families in ethnic areas.People with mental retardation have a certain degree of independence when outside the family environment,but are still very closely connected to their families.Secondly,the relationship between mentally handicapped people and other family members is different,which is due to the different psychological state of treating mentally handicapped people and also influenced by the local social and cultural concepts in ethnic areas.Finally,families play a two-way role in the process of social integration of mentally disabled people,on the one hand,they nurture mentally disabled people at the level of ideology,supportive skills development,and provide material and spiritual support;on the other hand,parents also play a role in building a friendly social environment,such as building and maintaining a network of social relationships,making alternative contributions,linking services,and carrying out social advocacy,etc.In ethnic areas,families of people with mental retardation have characteristics that are culturally appropriate to their society in promoting personal and social integration.This study argues that families play the role of bridges and bonds in the process of social integration of people with mental disabilities,by acting on both individual people with mental disabilities and the general social environment,and making concerted efforts.In the future,in the advocacy action of social integration of mentally disabled people in ethnic areas,the strength of family should be explored more deeply and the socio-cultural background of ethnic areas should be emphasized.Similarly,China’s disability assistance policies should be tilted to families of mentally disabled people in ethnic areas according to this characteristic,and more precise disability assistance policies should be formulated to provide more space for their development.