Theoretical considerations on the relevance of family, self-determination and disability studies in the health contexts

Abstract

Introduction: self-determination, as an evolutionary process, is not an automatic result of psychological maturation or the age of the human being, however, it depends on the interaction between psychological and environmental factors in which the individual is immersed throughout his or her life. Objective: to assess the importance of family as an external factor in the empowerment and development of self-determination in adolescents with physical-motor disabilities. Method: for this purpose, a literature review in Internet databases was carried out on researches (published in the last 5 years) based on the family and its influence on the empowerment of the development of self-determination. Results: the family plays an essential role in enabling adolescents with physical-motor disabilities at the time to transcend prolonged and profound levels of dependence on adults who care for them, also to develop self-determined behavior, and to achieve optimal levels of psychological development and social integration, helped them to achieve a regulated behavior in a healthy way. Family, as basic socializing agent, needs to be a platform for unleashing these potentialities. Conclusions: researchers tend to focus more on the personal factors underlying the development of self-determination, than on the social environmental factors that act as facilitators or barriers for the development of its components, like family.

Keywords

• discapacidad física-motora
• autodeterminación
• familia
• adolescencia