Transforming suffering through faith: A phenomenological exploration of spiritual hope among parents of children with disabilities

Parents of children with chronic disabilities described faith, hope and trust in God as active resources for reframing suffering, regulating emotions, finding renewed purpose and contemplating difficult family decisions, according to a qualitative study of 18 parents recruited from a pediatric referral center. Participants associated spirituality with sustained caregiving and a more forward-looking orientation, while also reporting that pragmatic fear sometimes persisted alongside religious trust. The findings present spirituality as an ongoing process of interpretation and coping rather than passive acquiescence.

Researchers used a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design guided by Van Manen’s approach. They purposively sampled 18 parents of children with chronic disabilities and conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews concerning participants’ perceptions of faith, hope, divine trust, parenting, family life and future childbearing. The researchers analyzed interview data using Van Manen’s six-step interpretive framework with MAXQDA v21. Member checking, peer debriefing and audit trails were used to support the trustworthiness of the analysis.

Five interrelated themes captured the spiritual dimensions of parental coping and meaning-making. The first concerned reinterpreting suffering as a divine test or blessing. The second involved embodied spiritual practices—prayer, pilgrimage and scripture reading—which participants described as sources of hope and emotional regulation. The third theme reflected spiritual transformation and a renewed purpose that enabled forward-oriented decisions. A fourth captured communal and pastoral support as forms of spiritual resilience, while the fifth represented tensions between faith-based trust and pragmatic fear.

The study reports that hope and faith interacted to foster psychological resilience and future orientation in family life. Some participants also said these resources influenced decisions about future childbearing under adversity. The interviews show how religious beliefs and practices could provide a framework for thinking through difficult choices, but they do not establish that spirituality caused improved psychological outcomes. As a qualitative study centered on one referral center, the research also cannot determine how widely the reported experiences apply to parents in other countries, cultures, religious traditions or families caring for children with different disabilities.

By the researchers’ account, spiritual hope was embedded in both personal practices and relationships with others. Prayer, pilgrimage, scripture reading and interpretations of adversity appeared alongside communal and pastoral support in participants’ descriptions of coping. The findings therefore portray spiritual faith and hope as dynamic psychosocial resources that may help parents transform suffering into meaning, sustain caregiving and manage difficult life choices. The authors suggest that spiritual evaluation and pastoral collaboration could be considered within pediatric and family care, although the supplied study examined parental experiences through interviews rather than testing a care intervention or measuring clinical benefit.

Subject of Research: Spiritual hope and parental coping among parents of children with chronic disabilities

Article Title: Transforming suffering through faith: A phenomenological exploration of spiritual hope among parents of children with disabilities

Article References: Modarresy mosalla, S. Z., Ghanbari-afra, L., Hashemi, B.-S., & Taheri, L. (2026). Transforming suffering through faith: A phenomenological exploration of spiritual hope among parents of children with disabilities. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05565-4

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05565-4

Keywords: spiritual hope, parental coping, childhood disability, faith, caregiving, phenomenology, qualitative research, psychological resilience, prayer, family care, Transforming, suffering