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Anders Gustavsson

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Managing children with challenging behaviours. Parents’ meaning-making processes in relation to their children’s ADHD diagnosis

    2019. Noam Ringer (et al.). International journal of disability, development and education

    Article

    This study investigates parents’ lived experiences of having a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim was to explore parents’ meaning-making processes in relation to their children’s ADHD with a focus on understanding the impact that receiving a diagnosis had on the parents’ perceptions of, and ways of managing, their children’s challenging behaviours. Drawing on data collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 parents, we carried out a content analysis of the parents’ accounts, producing a range of categories describing different aspects of the parents’ meaning-making processes in relation to their child receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Five conceptual categories were identified, describing components of a process of adaptation through which the parents – using the diagnosis as a tool – were able to transform feelings of distress over their difficulties in managing their child’s challenging behaviours into feelings of being able to cope with these challenges of integrating the ADHD diagnosis into everyday family life. This research suggests that understanding the long-term processes involved in parents’ meaning-making of an ADHD diagnosis is important and can open up a pathway to developing initiatives to support parents in dealing with their child’s challenging behaviours in everyday life.

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  • Successful schooling for pupils with intellectual disabilities

    2017. Anders Gustavsson, Anna Kittelsaa, Jan Tøssebro. European Journal of Special Needs Education 32 (4), 469-483

    Article

    A comprehensive review of educational interventions for pupils with intellectual disabilities showed that most studies report positive results for a variety of interventions. The aim of this article is to explore how these results can be understood. We draw on similar earlier findings concerning intervention effects in psychotherapy and social work, discussing the so-called Dodo bird conjecture, indicating that established methods for identification of evidence-based practices can provide false, positive results influenced by so-called common factors present in most interventions. In conclusion, we argue for a new paradigm of research on educational interventions for pupils with intellectual disabilities, replacing the present ambition to find evidence-based support for specific interventions in favour of a line of research exploring alternative explanations in terms of, for instance, common positive factors.

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  • Plurality and continuity-Understanding self-identity of persons with intellectual disability

    2016. Anders Gustavsson, Catarina Nyberg, Charles Westin. Alter;European Journal of Disability Research ;Journal Europeen de Recherche Sur le Handicap 10 (4), 310-326

    Article

    The objective of this article is to explore the complexity and continuity of self-identities of persons with intellectual disability. This is done by close reading of four life stories. The findings are that intellectually disabled people's self-identities are basically plural and fluid. A fruitful approach to understanding this plurality is given by positioning theory developed by Harre & Langenhove. We analyze the subject's sense of continuity in terms of our own concept of inner dialogue. Our point of departure is a review of literature with special focus on multiple identities. We distinguish between three strands of knowledge within this field: (1) sociological studies of other-defined, identities, which are hard to change; (2) psychological studies of dynamic, self-defined identities characterized by adaptation and continuity, and (3) discursive studies of fluid and plural self- and other-defined identities. The third strand has contributed significantly to the field of disability studies by transcending the classic dichotomy of normalcy or deviancy (of identity) of persons with intellectual disabilities. In our aim to probe deeper into the issues of plurality and continuity of self-defined identities, we turn to Stuart Hall's noteworthy text: Who needs identity?' (Hall & Du Gay, 1996). Hall proposes that a new direction for a theory of identity needs to build on input from discursive studies, but it should also embrace the question of how the subject maintains a sense of personal continuity.

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