Stories of Life Transition: Subjective Well-Being and Ego Development in Parents of Children with Down Syndrome
Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
12-2000
Abstract
Eighty-seven parents of children with Down Syndrome (DS; 63 women, 24 men) wrote narratives about finding out that their child had DS and completed questionnaire measures of subjective well-being (SWB) and stress-related growth and completed the Sentence Completion Test as a measure of ego development. Forty-two of these individuals participated in a follow-up 2 years later. Foreshadowing and happy endings in the stories were related to heightened SWB at both time periods. Evidence of accommodative change—actively experiencing a paradigmatic shift—was related to stress-related growth and ego development at both time periods. A high sense of closure and accommodation in the stories was associated with the highest levels of stress-related growth. Implications for research on well-being and personal growth are discussed.
Keywords
Subjective well-being, Down Syndrome, parents, ego development
Discipline
Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Journal of Research in Personality
Volume
34
Issue
4
First Page
509
Last Page
536
ISSN
0092-6566
Identifier
10.1006/jrpe.2000.2285
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
KING, Laura A., SCOLLON, Christie N., RAMSEY, Christine, & WILLIAMS, Teresa.(2000). Stories of Life Transition: Subjective Well-Being and Ego Development in Parents of Children with Down Syndrome. Journal of Research in Personality, 34(4), 509-536.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/932
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2000.2285
