Social and Behavioral Sciences

Kimberly Jones, Utah State University The purpose of my research project is to analyze the ethics of what prevents assistive technology from being used for children and adults with multiple disabilities. A person with multiple disabilities by definition cannot perform a number of everyday functions on their own, leaving them to rely entirely on others. The parents of these individuals, as well as their lawmakers, have historically been opposed to new assistive technologies for these individuals for a variety of reasons. I am going to examine why parents and lawmakers may be opposed and how different ethical frameworks can suggest solutions to these problems. In particular, I will use two ethical frameworks to look at this issue. The first is the ethics of care as described by Joan Tronto. This ethical framework is especially fitting because individuals with multiple disabilities by definition cannot care for themselves; they rely entirely on care from others. I will research how care, which is framed as trying to better the world around you, is being used for them already and see where it might be lacking. Care is all about community and recognizing as well as fulfilling the needs of others. The second framework I will use is virtue ethics as described by Shannon Vallor. Virtue ethics is all about self-cultivating certain virtues in order to live a good life. I am going to examine how assistive technology may allow individuals with multiple disabilities to cultivate virtues for themselves in ways they never could before, as well as how other people involved in making decisions for them (such as parents and lawmakers) may feel compelled to allow assistive technology or may feel compelled to ban it based on their virtues. This framework helps expand the research into a place it’s never gone before by asking certain questions that have never been asked. Such questions would be: what is different about cultivating virtues in oneself compared to in a person with multiple disabilities? How does care ethics suggest the community look at the situation and handle these individuals who rely so wholly on others? Where does this assistive technology fit into these frameworks and how does it change the way we have done things for these individuals in the past? I do not want to look at this issue in a binary way; rather, I want to ask questions that have not been asked before and see where they lead.

Erin Kaseda, Brigham Young University Background: It is estimated that between 5-10% of children and adolescents in the United States have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For adolescents with ADHD, parent-child relationships experience increased conflict and poorer parenting practices. Interpersonal difficulties among both peers and family members put children with ADHD at risk for comorbid disorders, including depression and anxiety. Very little research has been done on children’s own perception of parental support or on the strength of parent’s marital quality as mediating factors on the negative symptomology of ADHD. The project will bridge this gap in the current literature. Methods: 10 adolescents aged 14-19 (M=17, N= 7 female, 3 male) with an official diagnosis of ADHD completed surveys and participated in a semi-structured interview. Participants were asked questions about self-control in school and in home settings, how their relationship with their parents influence their self-control, and their overall perceptions of their parent-child relationships. The interviews were transcribed and coded for factors that improve or hinder adolescents’ comfort in confiding in or sharing their feelings with their parents. Results: Participants were mostly white (50%) or Latino/a (40%) and from middle to high income families (100%). When asked how comfortable they felt sharing their feelings with or confiding in their parents, 33% of subjects reported feeling very comfortable, 40% somewhat comfortable, and 27% as not comfortable. When asked who they tend to go to for advice or support, 30% of subjects reported that there is no one that they are likely to go to. Participants also reported on specific actions their parents take that make it more difficult for them to confide in them. Responses included, ÛÏI can’t tell them the things I feel guilty aboutÛ_it’s scary;Û ÛÏIf they give me advice that I think [was] a little bit too judgmental, I’ll probably not come back to them;Û and ÛÏThere’s just kind of a difference in perspective.Û Conclusions: Understanding adolescents’ own perception of parental support and factors that make it difficult for them to confide in their parents has significant potential for clinicians in creating family-based interventions and therapies for adolescents with ADHD. Additionally, the finding that a third of subjects do not have peers or other adults that they feel comfortable going to for support is significant for school-based interventions. Further research needs to be done on the differences in social network size between adolescents with ADHD and their typically developing peers.