Parental perceptions of the outcome and meaning of normalization

Abstract

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to identify the meaning of normalization for parents of a child with a chronic genetic condition. The sample was comprised of 28 families (48 parents), selected to reflect two groups: Normalization Present (NP) and Normalization Absent (NA). Constant comparison analysis was used to identify themes characterizing parents' perceptions of the meaning of normalization. The meanings parents attributed to normalization reflected their evaluation of condition management, parenting role, and condition impact, with parents in the NP and NA groups demonstrating distinct patterns of meaning. These meaning patterns are discussed as an outcome of normalization. Providers can play a pivotal role in helping families achieve normalization by providing guidance on how to balance condition management with normal family life.

A Systematic Review of the Experiences of Siblings of Children With Cancer

“…Families utilize a strategy of normalization in order to assimilate the treatments for the chronic illness into the daily life routines. 29 The siblings need opportunities to participate in the ill child's medical treatments and care plans and to participate in regular family life and strategies to order to maintain a degree of normality. Therefore, the siblings' and other family members' knowledge of the current state or direction of the health of the child with cancer, what is required in terms of healthcare for the sick child, and information on the direction in which any adjustments must take place, all form an important turning point for the sibling and the family.…”

Testing the Applicability of the Family Management Style Framework to Chinese Families

“…This finding is inconsistent with those of Toly and colleagues (2012) in which an older child was a predictor of normalization for families of children with chronic conditions. The factors of normalization were condition management, the parental role, and the impact of the condition (Knafl, Darney, Gallo, & Angst, 2010), which were mainly indexed to the EFM in this study. This discrepancy may have resulted from the different characteristics of the subjects and the measures because their children had medical equipment-dependent conditions and their subjects were evaluated using a normalization subscale.…”

Patterns of Family Management of Childhood Chronic Conditions and Their Relationship to Child and Family Functioning

“…Researchers also have studied how the seriousness or pervasiveness of certain conditions or the intensity of treatments can pose barriers to normalization and contribute to condition management becoming the focus of family life (Earle, Clarke, Eiser, & Sheppard, 2007; Knafl, Darney, Gallo, & Angst, 2010; Rehm & Bradley, 2005; Rehm & Franck, 2000). Although normalization usually is equated with successful family management, the absence of normalization is not always an indicator of poor adaptation.…”