Mothers’ stress, resilience and early intervention

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine factors that predict maternal stress, reported by mothers whose infants were diagnosed as having developmental disabilities at the beginning of participating in an early intervention programme ‘Me and My Mommy’ and after one year. A second goal was to identify and to portray a subgroup of resilient mothers. The sample consisted of 70 mothers from intact families, whose infants were diagnosed mostly with Down’s syndrome. All mothers were receiving early intervention services. The mothers were presented questionnaires—Sense of coherence (SOC); Family adaptability and cohesion evaluation (FACES III); Coping scale of parenting stress index (PSI‐SF), at the beginning and at the end of the year. They were also interviewed at the end of the intervention regarding their satisfaction with the programme. The results showed that at the beginning of the year, the mothers’ sense of coherence had predicted the stress experience. After a year of participation in the intervention, in addition to the contributions of the initial stress and the mothers’ satisfaction with the intervention programme, the following variables: the mothers’ sense of coherence, coping style and family cohesion, assessed at the beginning of the intervention, were considered. A group of resilient mothers was identified and they revealed following intervention a higher sense of coherence, lower stress, an increased family cohesion and decreased family adaptation measures. The results have implications for the planning of effective intervention programmes.