Bedouin mothers of young children with developmental disability – Stigma, quality of life and collaboration with professionals

Background: Although children across the world experience Developmental Disabilities, most research on DD has been conducted using Western cultural perspectives. Similarly, though much has been written on the subject of collaboration between parents and professionals around the world, this subject has hardly been studied among Bedouin mothers in the Middle East, leaving significant gaps in the literature. This study intends to fill some of these gaps by exploring and gaining an understanding of the experiences of Bedouin mothers raising young children with DD. Aims: The aims of the study were to examine: A) Do stigma and the QoL of mothers of young children with DD affect the collaboration between them and professionals? B) Do relationships exist between stigma, QoL, and collaboration among the mothers? Methods: Ninety Bedouin mothers of children with DD completed: a socio-demographic questionnaire, a questionnaire of collaboration between parents and professionals, and a QoL questionnaire. Results: A significant negative relationship was found between stigma and the collaboration of the mothers with the professional, and a significant positive relationship between QoL and collaboration. The model for predicting collaboration using stigma and QoL was significant. Conclusions and implications: This study emphasizes the need for collaboration between this mothers and professionals, and to develop community programs.