Summary Daughters Of Mothers With Multiple Sclerosis ...

Article: Jonzon, Alison and Donna L. Goodwin, â€Å"Daughters of Mothers with Multiple Sclerosis: Their Experience of Play†, Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, July 2012, V. 29, #3, pp. 205-223. I picked this article because it was more sociological than physically scientific. Also, in my opinion, it would be general applicable to many diseases and disabilities. Drawbacks of the study was that it was very small (4), only one of whom was currently caregiving. Although, the prior caregivers may have gained perspective difficult to achieve while caregiving. Two were only children and two were youngest children. Two were in single-parent families for the entirety of their caregiving and two partially until their mothers remarried (! –†¦show more content†¦205) The emphasis of the study was on the impact on the family system. Three themes emerged: â€Å"(a) being a good daughter, (b) blurred relationship boundaries, and (c) encumbered play†. They all gave personal care to their mothers, experiencing worry and guilt. But this experience caused them to be more mature than their peers. Because of their caregiving, the responsibility of which was oft en deemed excessive, they had â€Å"limited social networks† and often at least the appearance of role reversal. They usually had at least limited access to some play, which provided much-needed and appreciated relief, recreation, and escape. Women have 300% the incidence of MS as do men, usually diagnoses between the ages of 15 and 40. Often, because of fatigue and lack of functionality, the mothers’ physical conditions could degenerate further. What had not occurred to me was that the mothers also became emotionally inaccessible. Homemaking duties and personal care that they used to do are now done by the daughters, especially in single parent households. Even when sons were also present, the mothers usually preferred the services of a daughter because of gender expectations and experience, for the intimacy of the personal care, more perceived capacity for compassion/empathy, emotional closeness, and shared values. The youngest of these daughters had just barely assumed adulthood themselves, at least at the time of the study; they may at that time already