Stress-reduction and improved well-being following a pilot community-based participatory mindfulness-based stress-reduction (MBSR) program for parents/caregivers of children with developmental disabilities

Objective: Stress among parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities is pervasive and is linked to lower quality of life, unhealthy family functioning, and negative psychological consequences. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is a method of reducing stress and improving well-being through letting go of stress by “being in the moment”. Our goal was to develop, implement, and evaluate the feasibility of an MBSR program designed for parents/caregivers in a community-based participatory setting.

Methods: Parents/caregivers were equal partners with researchers in curriculum development, recruitment, implementation and evaluation. Two concurrent classes, evening and morning, were conducted twice weekly in English with Spanish translation over 8-weeks in Spring, 2008. Classes consisted of meditation practice, supported discussion of stressors affecting parents/caregivers and yoga. Pre- and post-scores on the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Scale of Psychological Well-Being (PWB), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS10), Parental Stress Scale (PSS) were compared using paired t-tests.

Results: Of 37 participants recruited, 29 (78%) attended six or more classes. Parents/caregivers reported significantly less stress after the program (PSS M=38.8, SD=10.1) than before (M=46.5, SD=10.6, p<0.05). The mean PSS-10 score decreased by 9.53 points (p<0.05). Parents/caregivers also reported significantly (p<0.05) increased mindfulness (MAAS), self-compassion (SCS) and well-being (PWB).

Conclusions: A community-based MBSR program can be an effective intervention to reduce stress and improve psychological well-being for parents/caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. Future studies should include a community-based approach for larger, randomized controlled studies of MBSR programs with longer-term outcomes and for those with developmental disabilities.