Family Functioning Following Wildfires: Recovering from the 2011 Slave Lake Fires

Natural disasters are increasingly becoming a common occurrence; but there remains a paucity of information about how families as a unit recover from disasters in general and from wildfires in particular. The work presented here investigates family recovery after a devastating wildfire in a rural community in Alberta, Canada. The goal is to examine the experience of families, parents and children, in the aftermath of the wildfire including the evacuation and recovery. The study was conducted within a research program that is focusing on understanding the links between disaster recovery and community resilience. We interviewed 27 parents and 26 children representing 19 families and conducted extensive community fieldwork. Data analysis included an inductive coding process. Findings indicate commonalities among affected families. In particular, six main themes related to family recovery were generated: different life goals and priorities, new routines, changes in attitudes, changes in interactions within the family unit and with the community, as well as new values and perceptions. Results also indicate parents’ and children’s recovery is marked by their own experiences and particular needs. The discussion of these findings highlights the important role of parents in family recovery, but also the necessity of examining the family unit and the changes it undergoes in re-establishing family routines while acknowledging children’s concerns about protecting their parents. The study enhances our theoretical understanding of the social impacts of wildfires and is useful for those involved in disaster planning and recovery in preparation for future wildfire events.     

Extended Family Impact of Genetic Testing: The Experiences of X-linked Carrier Grandmothers

In many cases, X-linked conditions are transmitted through families “silently” until the first affected individual is diagnosed. Grandmothers are often then tested to help determine the risk to other family members. To date, psychosocial research on carriers of X-linked conditions has focused primarily on mothers and sisters of affected males. In the wider social science literature, studies on grandparents of children with disabilities have centered on their role within the family and relationship with the grandchild. We therefore know little about the impact of carrier testing for a genetic condition on grandparents. This qualitative study aims to contribute towards filling that gap. This study included thirteen grandmothers in families with Fragile X or Duchenne muscular dystrophy; ten had living affected grandsons and three had daughters who chose not to continue with affected male pregnancies after prenatal diagnosis. All thirteen took part in semi-structured interviews and provided a rich and varied data source for conducting thematic analysis. Most of the grandmothers expressed recurring feelings of guilt and a strong sense of responsibility for what had occurred in the family. Other themes included feelings of shock after receiving their test result, changes in family relationships and searching to make sense of the inheritance within the context of the family’s experience. This study provides evidence that X-linked carrier testing can have a profound and lasting impact on grandmothers. Although genetic counseling for X-linked conditions is often focused on the potential reproductive implications for carriers, these findings suggest that grandmothers should also be offered genetic counseling when tests are carried out, because of the likely psychosocial impact of a positive test result.