Parental habitus in promoting self-determination of children with/without intellectual and developmental disabilities in Türkiye

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities 2022-12, Vol.131, p.104347-104347, Article 104347
• Main Authors: Meral, Bekir Fatih, Wehmeyer, Michael L., Palmer, Susan B., Ruh, Anil Bilge, Yilmaz, Engin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AIR-SD Scale; Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Families; Parental habitus; Self-determination; Turkey (Türkiye)
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104347

Enhancing the self-determination of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is a prominent factor in their daily, community, school, or post-school outcomes. Parental practices play a crucial role in promoting self-determination of children with IDD. Families worldwide engage in parenting practices determined by each family’s beliefs and values filtered through cultural experiences related to the place of origin, social structure, and living area. This study investigated the impact of parental habitus as structured within social and cultural capital on family ratings of child self-determination in two distinct regions of Turkey (Türkiye). Our assumption is that the gap in terms of social, economic, and cultural capital between different districts of the same country affects parental habitus in fostering their children’s self-determination. Researchers collected information from 232 family members regarding the degree of their children’s self-determination in two different geographic areas of Türkiye. We used the American Institutes for Research (AIR) Self-Determination Scale – Parent Form (AIR-SDS-PF questionnaire and a socio-demographic form to collect data. We employed the univariate analysis (two-way ANOVA) to identify the main and interactional effect among variables. Parental habitus depending on where families live, socioeconomic level, and child’s disability status was influential in promoting self-determination for their children with IDD and counterparts. Regional or micro-cultural differences impacting parental dispositions should be considered in developing or planning self-determination interventions for children with/without IDD in the same country. •Parents have a pivotal role in fostering the self-determination of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). To our knowledge, this study is one of the first studies examining multidisciplinary the effect of parental habitus in promoting the self-determination of their children with/without IDD in Turkey (Türkiye).•Türkiye is a developing country, and its GDP is getting grower, but some inequalities occur between regions (OECD, 2017–2020). The various appearances of social, economic, and cultural capital among geographic areas may cause the different parental dispositions in fostering self-determination of children with/without IDD in Türkiye as well. Parental habitus generated where families live influences in promoting the self-determination of chil