| Summary: | 碩士 === 東海大學 === 社會工作學系 === 98 === Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to understand stress and coping of spouses with acquired disability. Aged women caregivers in Yunlin area are taken as example. Research topics include how caregivers see themselves playing different roles, what kind of pressure they are suffering from caretaking, their coping strategies, and why they are willing to stay in their marriages, etc. As a social worker, understanding more about spouses’ feeling and coping is essential for providing more suitable services.
Qualitative research with purposeful sampling is the main method used in this study. Semi structural questionnaires are adopted at in-depth interviews to encourage interviewees to describe their feelings during caretaking processes. Thus the researcher can understand their difficulties, stress and coping as caregivers, including their inner mind and points of view. Interviewees are 10 female spouses of acquired disability referred by home CARE Services of the Government of Yunlin County and other organizations of disability. Their average age is 57, and average care taking length is 11.7 years.
It is found that caregivers’ value of marriage has certain impacts on their decision making. They believe in fatalism and assume that difficulties occurring in their marriages are due to karma and they have to return the debt owed in the previous life. They are willing to take the bitterness coming from marriage, and their faith in one marriage for a lifetime and wholesome family support them to continue. Ethical caring is mainly adopted which sees caretaking as a responsibility. They follow the traditional rules for women and sacrifice their own needs to fulfill the others. They identify with motherhood and feel that taking care of and protecting children are their responsibilities. Self assurance and re-evaluation of life come from their children. It is also found that due to multiple role-playing in caretaking process, caregivers are suffering from multiple stresses, but they tend to neglect them. Caretaking also causes reduction on their social activities. 90% of the interviewees indicate that they used to have financial problems. Caregivers’ coping strategies include problem-focused coping such as religion, family and friends, social resources, and help from social organizations; or crying and telling people as emotion-focused coping. Cognitive adaptation is the most often adopted method. Both their positive and negative thinking about life influence their explanations of life and marriage.
The final part of this research is critical recommendations for related parties. The government should make compensation plans of reasonable allowances for spouse caregivers, provide them with caretaking training programs of caring knowledge and licenses, and promote new types of services of present organizations. Medical organizations are recommended to teach them caring techniques, support them to build up connections with resources to reduce their depression after returning home from hospitals, and encourage spouses with acquired disability joining social welfare organizations or self-help groups. Social workers should actively interfere with families and help them reach a balance by allocating related resources. Public channels for women to express their feelings should be set up, and sex equality education should be carried out to reduce sexual stereotypes in the society. Besides, caregivers are encouraged to outsource and learn problem solving skills, self care taking and think positively to help them out from trouble.
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