Identity Development and Participation of Special Needs Parents

• In Event: Motherhood, Fatherhood and their Effects on Political Behavior

Abstract

Being a member of a group (e.g., a woman, a professor) does not always translate into identifying with or participating politically on behalf of that group. The goal of this project is to explain variation in the metamorphosis from objective group membership into collective identity and political participation. In particular, we study parents who unexpectedly and instantly find that they are members of a group to which they had not previously belonged when they receive a diagnosis of a child’s special needs. Inclusion in this group approximates random assignment, cutting across politically important variables, such as party, race/ethnicity, and class. While social identity theory, in particular Tajfel’s experimentally-based minimal group paradigm, demonstrates the power of randomly assigned groups, far less is known about the process through which identities are formed, and the circumstances under which they motivate political participation in a real-life context.

A first step in understanding the process of identity formation is to examine the individual and social factors that contribute to feelings of closeness or identification with this new group membership (in this case, special needs parents or SNPs). The random assignment of individuals into the SNP group allows us to test claims that group identity develops as a result of personality characteristics against the alternative hypothesis that group identity is the result of social or community context. For example, SNP group identity might result because of SNPs who have a high need for belongingness and extraversion (personality factors) and/or when SNPs can connect to civic groups of other SNPs, especially when the existing group’s cross-cutting identities align with their own (a strong, homogenous community context).

A second step is to investigate the relationship between this group identity strength and participation. Children with disabilities are often overlooked in getting the resources they need; their parents must interact with all levels of government to advocate for the rights of their children, many of whom require government benefits across their entire lifespan. The need for advocacy is even more pronounced among families who are disadvantaged economically or racially. We therefore investigate whether, even when controlling for traditional participation variables, identity relates to SNPs’ involvement as advocates for their child alone (e.g., ensuring that they are receiving adequate benefits from government programs) and when they engage in politics relating to all children with special needs, for example supporting broader health or educational policies.

To begin examination of these issues (this is the start of a larger project), we will conduct focus groups of parents of children with Down syndrome (Ds) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through these focus groups, we expect to uncover whether or not parents see SNP as a relevant social and political identity, the meaning of that identity, and whether or not it relates to political participation and beliefs. To get leverage on our variables of interest, we will vary our focus groups by 1) the ages of their children, and 2) income and race. By examining the experiences of SNPs of younger children to SNPs of older children, we will be able to understand identity and participation development and how experience with the community and with government programs create a feedback loop to further shape identity and participation. By studying the participation of resource-poor parents (those with low income, marginalized racial/ethnic status), we can understand how identity, community strength and homogeneity together shape participation; such parents may participate more than expected based on prior research because of their identity and community interaction. In sum, these qualitative data will begin to shed light on the development of political identity as the result of individual factors and social context.

Authors

• Timothy Herbert Callaghan, Texas A&M University

• Steven M. Sylvester, Utah Valley University

• Monica C. Schneider, Miami University