PLMET:

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Title:

Online discussion group as a source of support for parents of blind children

Subject and Keywords:

social support   online discussion group   visual impairment   parental stress

Abstract:

The main aim of this article is to present stressful situations experienced by parents in raising a blind child and the types of wanted support in the online discussion forum. In the theoretical part, there is a reference to parental stress theory and a description of main problems of bringing up the blind child concerning four groups of psychological factors causing stress according to J. Terelak’s classification. Attention has been also paid to the interactive relationship between stress level and the experienced social support. There are short characteristics of social support in terms of the functional model and a list of its types singled out because of the content in exchange interaction: emotional, informational, instrumental, physical, evaluative and spiritual. Apart from this, the main features of the support provided through the Internet emerged and were characterized, paying attention to its specificity: hyperaccessibility, hyperanonymity, hyperopenness, hyperinformativeness. In the empirical part there is an analysis of posts written by the members of forum designed for parents of blind children in terms of types of support required and parenting problems. Qualitative analyses were made through the use of virtual ethnography methods and asynchronous observation online. An analysis of more than 2.000 parents’ posts shows that the online discussion group is a valuable source of emotional, informational and instrumental support. Research done in the online forum for parents of blind children clearly illustrate models described in the literature, phases, forecasts of emotional coping with the problem of the child, but also bring an element of uniqueness through the prism of histories and individual confessions.

Place of publishing:

Wrocław

Publisher:

Zakład Historii Edukacji Instytutu Pedagogiki Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego

Date issued:

2017

Detailed Type:

journal

Identifier:

ISSN 2082-9019   e-ISSN 2300-5866

DOI:

doi:10.23734/wwr20172.257.275

Source:

Pdg P 343

Language:

pol

Relation:

Wychowanie w Rodzinie, T. 16 (2/2017)

Is referenced by:

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Rights holder:

Copyright by Beata Papuda-Dolińska

Location of original object:

Biblioteka Instytutu Pedagogiki UWr

Autor opisu:

h.w.