Conventional vs Mindfulness Intervention in Parents of Children With Disabilities
Condition: Psychological Stress; Depression; Anxiety
MeSH terms: Depression; Stress, Psychological
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This application compares the effectiveness of a conventional Parent Group intervention to
      Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in parents of children with autism spectrum
      disorders (ASD) and other disabilities. Parent groups are widely-used to provide information,
      emotional support, education and advocacy. MBSR is efficacious for people with medical,
      psychiatric or other concerns, and teaches stress reduction through mindfulness training and
      practice. In contrast to conventional parent groups, the investigators' studies suggest that
      mindfulness-based interventions may be particularly effective in reducing stress and
      improving the health and mental health of parents of children with disabilities. The
      investigators will assess parent factors that may correlate with intervention efficacy in the
      2 treatment arms.
    

Detailed description: 
      Specific Aim 1. To compare the effectiveness of Parent Groups versus MBSR interventions in
      parents of children with ASD or other developmental disabilities.

      Hypothesis 1: Mothers and fathers in both treatment groups will show reduced stress,
      depression, and anxiety, and increased life satisfaction, health, and well-being. Treatment
      effects will be more pronounced in MBSR, including more normalized diurnal cortisol patterns.

      Hypothesis 2: Improved parental outcomes will persist after treatment, and relate to booster
      session attendance, and/or the frequency that parents practice techniques learned in each
      treatment. Improvements will be sustained longer in the MBSR treatment. Parental benefits
      will impact families, and may be associated with improved child behaviors or less family
      conflict.

      Hypothesis 3. The composition of intervention groups in Year 2 will be adjusted based on Year
      1 data, and may reflect continued separation or integration of ASD vs other disability
      groups, or new combinations of participants.

      Specific Aim 2: To identify aspects of maternal, family or child functioning that help
      explain variability in responses to Parent Group or MBSR interventions.

      Hypothesis 4: Mothers or fathers with relatively more stress, health or mental health
      problems, will show more robust treatment responses. Variability in treatment responses may
      be associated with child age, maternal age, family ethnicity, and child behavior problems.

      Hypothesis 5. Outcomes may relate to factors in the interventionists, greater treatment
      responses will be found when parents are matched with peer-mentors of the same gender,
      ethnicity, and child diagnosis.
    

Intervention name(s): mindfulness intervention; Conventional parent Support Group
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): a 6 -week behavioral intervention lasting 1.5 hours per week with a trained parent mentor, 3 monthly booster sessions and follow-up; a 6 week behavioral program, consisting of 1.5 hour weekly sessions run by a trained parent mentor with a structured curriculum based on the strengths of support groups like emotional support, advocacy and training. There are 3 monthly booster sessions and follow-up.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: parent stress; parent coping; parent anxiety; parent health; parent depression