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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1430412
This article is part of the Research Topic The Psychology of Parenting in Unique Life Experiences: Understanding the Challenges of Continuous Stressful Circumstances and Marginalized Populations View all 3 articles

"Motherhood forced me to cope with my disability": Identity intersection among mothers with physical disabilities

Provisionally accepted
Carmit-Noa Shpigelman Carmit-Noa Shpigelman 1,2*Limor Karlinski Argi Limor Karlinski Argi 1
  • 1 Department of Community Mental Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
  • 2 The Center for Mental Health Research, Practice and Policy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Although motherhood plays a meaningful role in the formation of a woman's identity, most studies have focused on the process of identity transformation in the transition to motherhood among non-disabled women; less is known about this process among women with physical disabilities who become mothers.Objective: The present study aimed to understand and describe the subjective experiences of Israeli women with lifelong physical disabilities in their motherhood journey from the perspective of the intersection of their motherhood and disability identities, and from the disability studies approach.Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 Israeli mothers with visible lifelong physical disabilities who live in the community and raise their children.Results: Three themes emerged from the interviews: (1) The decision to become a mother:Coping with the disability identity for the first time; (2) The first three years: Depending on others as limiting their motherhood identity; (3) After age three: Balancing the motherhood and disability identities.The transition to motherhood led to identity transformation among women with physical disabilities. Becoming a mother increased the tension between dependence and independence in the context of disability, which also influenced the intersection of their motherhood and disability identities and their well-being. Practitioners should provide emotional support to mothers with disabilities and help them embrace the positive aspects of each identity and strike a balance between them.

    Keywords: Motherhood, physical disability, Intersection, Identity, Well-being

    Received: 09 May 2024; Accepted: 03 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shpigelman and Karlinski Argi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Carmit-Noa Shpigelman, Department of Community Mental Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 3498838, Haifa, Israel

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.