| Abstract [eng] |
Leistrumaitė T. (2023). Father’s psychological resilience in raising a child with autism spectrum disorder: a master thesis. Thesis supervisor: prof. dr. Roma Jusienė. Consultant: dr. Greta Kaluževičiūte. Vilnius University, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Health Psychology: Vilnius, 54 pp. Raising a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder presents a number of challenges. The psychological resilience in fathers raising a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is rarely studied compared to mothers, even though their parental experience is markedly different from mothers’. The aim of the study - to reveal the experience of psychological resilience of a father raising a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The study explores the question: how does psychological resilience manifest in a father of a child with an autism spectrum disorder? The participants were 6 fathers raising a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview method. The data was analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Psychological resilience experienced by fathers is shown by their acceptance of the situation, integrating the impact on their life into everyday life, being able to focus on solutions, relaxing through enjoyable activities, and experiencing the positive consequences of realizing the importance of the father – son relationship. Despite experiencing the emotional stages of grieving and the challenges they faced, the experience helped the fathers to make sense of their experience by sharing with others the life lessons they had learnt. This study contributes to the small amount of literature on fathers' experiences of psychological resilience when raising a child with ASD. Approaching this research topic from a positive psychology perspective may provide a slightly different perspective from previous works. |
