This article presents a qualitative study of six families of children with disabilities and their perspectives on humor. The findings revealed that the families had an understanding of humor that went beyond the generalized humor construct. They embraced both the concept of humor and “other types of fun.” Furthermore, the families' attempts at defining humor focused on functional and situational approaches to humor involving its use as (a) a means of releasing negative emotions and as a natural stress remedy, (b) a means of learning, (c) a form of problem solving, (d) a means of connecting, (e) a form of communication, (f) a means of preventing others from engaging in a putdown, (g) an expression of freedom, (h) a means of building optimistic thinking, and (i) a form of discovering a playful spirit in oneself. A discussion of the findings and suggestions for further research on humor are offered.
AlbrechtG. L. (1999). Disability humor: What's in a joke?Body and Society, 5(4), 67–74.
2.
AndersonP. M. (1988). American humor, handicapism, and censorship. Journal of Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities International, 4, 79–87.
3.
BaumR. B. (1998). Humor and disability. The Bridge, 8(4), 3–6.
4.
BogdanR. (1988). Freak show: Presenting human oddities for amusement and profit. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
5.
BondJ. F. (1998). Take two guffaws and call me in the morning!Incentive, 172(2), 48–49.
6.
BoothT.BoothW. (1994). Parenting under pressure: Mothers and fathers with learning difficulties. Buckingham: Open University Press.
7.
BravermanT. (1993). Enhance your sense of self-mirth: Fun-in-the workplace philosophies keep firms laughing all the way to the bank. Training & Development, 47(7), 9–11.
8.
BreslauN.DavisD. C. (1986). Chronic stress and major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 309–314.
9.
BrooksN. A.GuthrieD. W.GaylordC. G. (1999). Therapeutic humor in the family: An exploratory study. International Journal of Humor Research, 12(2), 151–160.
10.
BurbachH. J.BabbittCh. E. (1993, January/February/ March). An exploration of the social functions of humor among college students in wheelchairs. Journal of Rehabilitation, 12, 6–9.
11.
CassellJ. L. (1985). Disabled humor: Origin and impact. Journal of Rehabilitation, 10, 59–62.
12.
ChapmanA. H.Chapman-SantanaM. (1995). The use of humor in psychotherapy. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 53(1), 153–156.
13.
ChapmanA. J. (1976). Social aspects of humorous laughter. In ChapmanA. J.FootH. C., Humor and laughter: Theory, research and applications. Chichester, England: Wiley.
14.
ChristieG. L. (1994). Some psychological aspects of humor. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 75(3), 479–489.
15.
CreswellJ. W. (1994). Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16.
DavidsonE. F. W. K.WoodillG.BredbergE. (1994). Images of disability in 19th-century British children's literature. Disability and Society, 9(1), 33–46.
17.
DeVaultM. J. (1991). Feeding the family: The social organization of caring as gendered work. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
18.
DixonN. F. (1980). Humor: A cognitive alternative to stress? In SarasonI. G.SpielbergerC. D., Stress and anxiety, Vol. 7. Washington, DC: Hemisphere Publishing.
19.
DrotarD.BaskiewiczB. A.IrvinN.KennellJ.KlausM. E. (1975). The adaptation of parents to the birth of an infant with a congenital malformation: A hypothetical model. Pediatrics, 56, 710–717.
20.
FootH. C.ChapmanA. J.SmithJ. R. (1980). Patterns of interaction in children's friendships. In FootH. C.ChapmanA. J.SmithJ. R., Friendship and social relations in children. England: Wiley.
21.
FranciscoS. M. (1989). Roy's modes of adaptation and use of humor related to family functioning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
22.
FryF. W.Jr. (1963). Sweet madness: A study of humor. Palo Alto, CA: Pacific Books.
23.
GeertzC. (1973). Thick description. In GeertzC., The interpretation of cultures (pp. 3–30). New York: Basic Books.
24.
GutwirthM. (1993). Laughing matter: An essay on the comic. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
25.
HampesW. P. (1992). Relationship between intimacy and humor. Psychological Reports, 71, 127–130.
26.
HampesW. P. (1999). The relationship between humor and trust. International Journal of Humor Research, 12, 253–259.
27.
HertzlerJ. O. (1970). Laughter: A socio-scientific analysis. New York: Exposition Press.
28.
HulseJ. R. (1994). Humor: A nursing intervention for the elderly. Geriatric Nursing, 15(2), 88–90.
29.
JarzabA. (1997). Family perspectives on humor. Unpublished research apprenticeship paper, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.
30.
JarzabA. (2004). Attack it with humor and make it as wonderful as you can. Exceptional Parent, 34(4), 38–40.
31.
JohnsonB.TurnerL. A. (2003). Data collection strategies in mixed methods research. In TasshakkoriA.TaddlieC., Handbook of mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
32.
KirshG. A.KuiperN. A. (2003). Positive and negative aspects of humor: Associations with the constructs of individualism and relatedness. International Journal of Humor Research, 16, 33–62.
33.
KoestlerA. (1964). The act of creation. London: Hutchinson.
34.
KruegerR. R. (1994). Focus: A practical guide for applied research (2d ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
35.
LazarusR.FolkmanS. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer-Verlag.
36.
LeaN. (1998). Laughing matters: In today's stressful working environment, humor is vital. Canadian Consulting Engineer, 39(2), 53–54.
37.
LingonJ. (1996). Using the surprise task in family therapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 7(1), 55–58.
38.
LipmanS. (1991). Laughter in Hell: The use of humor during the Holocaust. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc.
39.
LivnehH. (1980). Disability and monstrosity: Further comments. Rehabilitation Literature, 41(11–12), 280–283.
MaanenJ. V. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
42.
MartinR. A. (2001). Humor, laughter and psychological health: Methodological issues and research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 504–519.
43.
MartinR. A.KuiperN. A. (1999). Daily occurrence of laughter: Relationship with age, gender, and Type A personality. International Journal of Humor Research, 12, 355–384.
44.
MartinR. A.Puhlik-DorisP.LarsenG.GrayJ.WeirK. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 48–75.
45.
McCrone (2000, May 20). Comic relief. New Scientist.
46.
McGheeP. E.GoldsteinJ. H. (1983). (Eds.). Handbook of humor research. (Vol. 1–2). New York: Springer-Verlag.
47.
MelnickP. R. (1989). Humor in family dynamics. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
48.
MindessH. (1971). Laughter and liberation. Los Angeles: Nash.
49.
MorreallJ. (1983). Taking laughter seriously. Albany: State University of New York Press.
50.
O'ConnorS. (1995). We are all one family: The positive construction of people with disabilities by family members. In TaylorS. J.BogdanR.LutfiyyaZ. M., The variety of community experience: Qualitative studies of family and community life (pp. 67–77). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
51.
OlsonJ. M.RoeseN. J. (1995). The perceived funniness of humorous stimuli. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 908–913.
PahlJ.QuineL. (1987). Families with mentally handicapped children. In OrfordJ., Treating the disorder, treating the family (pp. 39–61). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
54.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
55.
PowellT. H.GallagherP. A. (1993). Brothers and sisters: A special part of exceptional families (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks.
56.
RaoS. S. (1996). A little inconvenience: Facilitating inclusion in the community. Perspectives of Bengali families of children with disabilities on inclusion and disability. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University.
57.
RapaportW. S. R.GibsonS. (1993). He who laughs… Lasts longer and lives better. Diabetes in the News, 12(6), 12–14.
58.
RehillK. B. (1990). The significance of humor in individual and family therapy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Widener University, Chester, PA.
59.
RiegnerE. J. (1996). The relationship of role strain, perceived social support, and humor to quality of life among couples experiencing the life-limiting illness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Florida State University College of Human Sciences.
60.
RobinsonV. (1977). Humor and the health professions. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.
61.
RossP. (1985). Parents of mentally retarded children: Misunderstood and mistreated. In TurnbullH. R.TurnbullA.P., Parents speak out, then and now (2nd ed., pp. 245–257). Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
62.
RudestamK. E.NewtonR. R. (2001). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide to content and process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
63.
RutterJ. (2000). The introductions of stand-up performers: Comparing comedy comperes. Journal of Pragmatics, 32(4), 463–483.
64.
SalesB. D.FolkmanS. (2002). Ethics in research with human participants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
65.
SamuelsonD. (1986). A letter to my daughter/myself on facing the collective fear of being different. Feminist Studies, 12, 155–167.
66.
SeligmanM.DarlingR. B. (1989). Ordinary families, special children: A systems approach to childhood disability. New York: Guilford Press.
67.
ShadishW. R.CookT. D.CampbellD. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
68.
ShoultzB. (1995). “But they need me!”: The story of Anna London. In TaylorS. J.BogdanR.LutfiyyaZ. M.The variety of community experience: Qualitative studies of family and community life (pp. 9–22). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks.
69.
SingerG. H. S.IrvinL. K. (1989). Support for care giving families: Enabling positive adaptation to disability. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
70.
SlavinR. E. (1989). PET and the pendulum: Faddism in education and how to stop it. Phi Delta Kappan, 70, 752–758.
71.
SteinJ.FlexnerS. B. (1984). Random House College Thesaurus. New York: Random House Reference Publishing.
72.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (2d ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
73.
SummersJ. A.BehrS. K.TurnbullA. P. (1989). Positive adaptation and coping strengths of families who have children with disabilities. In SingerG.IrvinL., Support for caregiving families: Enabling positive adaptation to disability (pp. 27–40). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
74.
ThurerS. (1980). Disability and monstrosity: A look at literary distortions of handicapping conditions. Rehabilitation Literature, 41(1–2), 12–15.
75.
WeinbergN.SantanaR. (1978). Comic books: Champions of the disabled stereotype. Rehabilitation Literature, 39(11–12), 327–331.
76.
WelliverD. (1986). Laughing together: The value of humor in family life. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press.
77.
WolcottH. F. (2001). The art offieldwork. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira.
78.
WootenP. (1996). Compassionate laughter: Jest for youth health. Salt Lake City, UT: Commune-A-Key Publishing.
79.
ZivA. (1984). Personality and sense of humor. New York: Springer-Verlag.
