Managing Stress Levels of Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Meta‐Analytic Review of Interventions

Abstract

AbstractParents of children diagnosed with disabilities often experience elevated levels of stress compared to those parenting children without disabilities (Baker‐Ericzén, Brookman‐Frazee, & Stahmer, 2005; Tomanik, Harris, & Hawkins, 2004). This increase in stress can have a negative impact on parent well‐being (Trute & Hiebert‐Murphy, 2002) resulting in a stress‐induced dysregulation of the immune system. In their article in this issue, Gouin, da Estrela, Desmarais, and Baker found that increased levels of social support served as protection against this dysregulation. In the current study, we examined the nature and beneficial components of formal support services targeted at reducing the stress levels of parental caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. With this meta‐analytic review we attempt to examine the efficacy of these interventions and potential moderators to their effects by reviewing comparison group studies conducted in North America with parent stress interventions and stress outcome measures. Six studies were identified that met this review's criteria, reporting an overall effect of d = 0.51. In sum, stress management interventions were found to effectively reduce the reported stress of parents caring for children with developmental disabilities. A significant issue identified was the limited number of comparison group studies that examined stress management interventions for this population. Implications of these findings and need for further exploration are discussed.