A Father’s Experience: Unveiling The Depths of Fatherhood Caregiver Burden and Mental Health in Fathers with Intellectually Disabled Children

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of caregiving burden on the mental health of fathers with intellectually disabled children. The study also aimed to uncover domains of life impacted by caregiving, challenges in care, coping strategies employed, and the experience of fatherhood alongside thoughts and perceptions about the future. A qualitative research design with the narrative inquiry paradigm was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 participants. The men explained experiencing feelings of sorrow and sadness, feeling defeated, mental exhaustion, and despair due to the unchanging nature of their child’s disability. Similarly, they identified areas such as marital relationships, work, social life, and family environment as the domains of life impacted by caregiving responsibilities. Some challenges in caregiving include improper disability management, unpleasant experiences at the hands of medical professionals, and a lack of proper resources. When speaking of coping, the fathers talked of acceptance of and courage to face challenges, social support, and determination and perceived competence in the effective resolution of conflict. The experience of fatherhood touched upon sub-themes such as unmet expectations of fathers, their perspective on caregiving, and perceptions of a father’s duty. The study found that fathers had a sense of uncertainty about and lack of hope for their child’s future, and a lack of interest in their future. The emerging themes include the nature of government support, concerns regarding medical management, regrets for their own life, and the different ways of thinking employed by the father. The study has demonstrated that fathers also experience caregiving burden. This caregiving burden has affected their mental health and overall well-being.