Race, Culture & Abuse of Persons with Disabilities

This chapter will explore how race and culture influence the lives of persons with disabilities who are experiencing abuse. The discussion will be framed by an intersectional lens and will be informed by cultural humility and critical race theory. Practitioners need to remain open to the idea that they cannot and will not know all there is to know about any given culture, and they should be open to hearing about their clients’ understanding and experiences of culture. Rather than knowing certain pieces of “knowledge” about a cultural group, it is more important to understand what pieces of culture the clients embrace or reject. This chapter will conclude with a composite client case example of a female, middle-aged, Korean immigrant with Multiple Sclerosis, who is very active in her Christian church, and who is being abused by her husband. Discussion of this case will highlight the intersectional context of the client’s experience and how they may influence her decision to seek help (and from whom) as well as her experience of receiving help. The case discussion also highlights the practitioner’s values and behaviors that are consistent with cultural humility and critical race theory

An Introduction to Korean Culture for Rehabilitation Service Providers

[Excerpt] The purpose of this monograph is to provide recommendations to busy rehabilitation service providers in the U.S. for effectively working with persons who hold traditional Korean values. The topics of Korean history, immigration, culture, language, religion, food, views on disabilities and rehabilitation services typically available in Korea are covered briefly to provide the reader with a quick overview and background. For those who seek more detailed information, the references cited in each section can be used as a starting point. For those with prior background knowledge of Korea, I suggest reading Part II first, in which I introduce Korean culture with case stories in the context of rehabilitation process

Immigrant Parent Perceptions of Disability and Special Education Services

The purpose of this paper was to review the literature investigating the attitudes and perceptions of immigrant parents toward disability and special education services. The nine studies in this chapter examine cultural perceptions of disability, limitations caused by disability, the grieving process for the family of a child with a diagnosis, parental hopes and wishes for their child with a disability, the diagnostic process, the special education process, and communication/language barriers. Studies are presented in ascending chronological order. Perspectives of immigrant parents from various cultures are examined. Studies are organized by the country of origin and include parents from Mexican, Korean- American, Korean, Arab-American, Hmong, West Indian, Haitian, South Asian Muslim, and Somali cultures

The Mediating Role of Korean Immigrant Mothers’ Psychological Well-Being in the Associations between Social Support and Authoritarian Parenting Style

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. We examined the mediating role of Korean immigrant mothers’ psychological well-being in the associations between mothers’ emotional vs. instrumental support received from their kin, and their authoritarian parenting style with their preschoolers using longitudinal data. First-generation Korean immigrant mothers with preschool-aged children (N = 158; Mmaternal age = 36.11 years, SD = 3.90; Mchild age = 4.43 years, SD = 1.10) residing in Maryland, U.S., participated in three assessment waves. Each assessment wave was 6 months apart. Mothers reported on the amount of perceived emotional and instrumental support they received from their kin, their behavioral acculturation towards the American culture, and their family demographic information at Wave 1, their psychological well-being at Wave 2, and their authoritarian parenting style at Wave 3. The results revealed that higher levels of perceived instrumental support (but not emotional support) received from kin predicted higher levels of maternal psychological well-being 6 months later, which in turn predicted lower levels of reported authoritarian parenting style 6 months later. Our findings highlighted the importance of psychological well-being as a mechanism that explains how instrumental support can impact Korean immigrant mothers’ parenting style, and the importance of distinguishing between types of support. Services providing instrumental support (e.g., childcare assistance) for first-generation immigrant mothers, particularly those with smaller or less effective kin networks, appear important to implement

Mother’s Behaviour in Using Smartphone to Find Child’s Health Information in Pontianak City

Background. Smartphone is the main communication device that provides various information including child health information nowadays. Objective. To find out the overview of smartphone usage among the mothers to seek out child’s health information. Methods. An observasional descriptive study with cross sectional approach in 232 subjects. The data was obtained from 4 primary health care: Alianyang, Kampung Bali, Pal 3, and Karya Mulia. Result. There are 61.7% of mothers use smartphone as the main media to find obtain child health information. Most of the subject, 44.4% mothers are moderate duration users, 53.9% of mothers low frequency users, and 27.7% of mothers use smartphone for communication (call message). There are 34.7% of mothers choose social media as a reading source, 75.9% of mothers have browsing duration for 15-30 minutes, and mothers practicing the information they get from smartphone (54.7%). Conclusion.  Smartphones is the main information media for mothers, the average duration of use is 1-3.5 hours/day, the frequency of checking is less than 10 times/day, with the main function as communication device. Mothers use social media as the main source for child’s health information through smartphone, with browsing duration of 15-30 minutes and they practice the information obtained from smartphone

Strangers helping strangers in a strange land: Vietnamese immigrant (expectant) mothers in the US use social media to navigate health issues in acculturation

Objectives Trying to adapt to a new culture, Vietnamese (expectant) mothers in the USA gathered in few Facebook groups with thousands of members discussing pregnancy, health, and child caring issues. However, there is little research exploring how social support was given/taken among these (expectant) mothers. This empirical research aims at shedding light on how such mothers use social media groups for social support seeking/providing regarding health utilization during their acculturation process. Methods Drawing from Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Utilization, acculturation, and online social support conceptual frameworks, this study analyzes 18 in-depth interviews with immigrant Vietnamese (expectant) mothers in the United States on the use of social media in navigating health acculturation during their pregnancy and motherhood. Results Results show that these mothers give and take all forms of social support including informational, emotional, relational, and instrumental ones. Facebook groups do not provide the best environment for improving “bonding” social capital for its members. However, these groups provide a platform where “strangers help strangers” overcome various barriers to sufficiently understand and independently access and use the official healthcare system. The groups, hence, aid these women's pregnancy and their child(ren)'s health. The informational and emotional support provided by Facebook groups among (soon-to-be) mothers helped them tremendously in overcoming acculturative stress. Moreover, with better language skills, knowledge, and experience in using health and social security systems, help-seekers tend to be transformed into help providers to deliver support for those “newcomers.” Conclusions This research provides insights into personal experience on the uses of social media in navigating health behavior in the process of acculturation among Vietnamese immigrant (expectant) mothers in the United States. The research seeks to contribute to the conceptual frameworks and practical experience of behavioral model of health utitlization among immigrant Vietnamese ethnic immigrant pregnant women and mothers of babies and toddlers in navigating health during acculturation process in the United States. The limitations and future research suggestions are also discussed

Higher Ground: A Hoosier Soldier\u27s Search for Religious Identity in the Korean War

This paper focuses on Private Joe Doe, a Hoosier soldier in the Korean War who struggled with the conflict between conservative Christian beliefs and modernity. The author reviewed 85 letters that Doe sent home to his mother, in addition to Private Doe’s mother’s memoirs and the evangelical literature that Doe encountered in his formative years. Although Doe had been socialized to believe that the church solved the most pressing problems, his experiences also underscored the power of modern science, New Deal programs, public education, and changing roles of women. This is a case study of a young Hoosier soldier’s search for religious identity

Resilience in Family Members of Persons with Serious Mental Illness

This integrative review summarizes current research on resilience in adult family members who have a relative with a diagnosed mental disorder that is considered serious. Within the context of resilience theory, studies identifying risk/vulnerability and positive/protective factors in family members are summarized, and studies examining seven indicators of resilience, including acceptance, hardiness, hope, mastery, self-efficacy, sense of coherence, and resourcefulness, are described. Implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are presented

Attachment parenting : new ideas, old practices

This study examined a sample of practitioners of Attachment Parenting (AP) in the Western culture. Questionnaire data on a sample of mothers (n=275) was gathered to identify the demographics and practices of AP mothers and the use of transitional objects (TOS) by their children. To further assess these practices a smaller sub-sample of this was interviewed (n=15). The mothers primarily breastfed on the infant\u27s cues, practiced extended breastfeeding (mean weaning age was 35.8 months), used little or no childcare, carried children in slings, coslept, and nursed or held their infant during the transition to sleep. Children whose mothers practiced high contact parenting (defined as: breastfeed, feed on cue, cosleep, and feed or hold during the transition to sleep) used traditional TOs much less frequently than children who are not parented in this high contact style. Children who did not use a traditional TO or who were reported to use the mother\u27s breast as a TO were weaned at a much later age than were children who used traditional TOs or a part of the mother\u27s body (i.e hair, ear) as a TO. This is discussed in terms of cultural interpretations and Winnicott\u27s theory of TO use