(PS4-41) Examining the Impact of MBSR and Psychoeducational Interventions on Life Satisfaction in Parents of Children with Developmental Delays

Historically, few studies have examined the relationship between life satisfaction and parenting interventions (Govindasamy et al., 2021). We examined the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and psychoeducation on families of children with developmental delays (DD). Parents of children with DD have reported greater levels of stress than other parents (Rayan & Ahmad, 2016). We hypothesized that families in the BPT-M group will experience greater increases in life satisfaction following the intervention than families in the BPT-E group. 

The present study included caregivers of children with DD (N = 262, M_age = 37.31, 96.2% female, 62.6% Latinx). Caregivers were randomly assigned to a 16-week behavioral parent training (BPT) intervention enhanced with MBSR (BPT-M; n = 131) or psychoeducation (BPT-E; n = 131). Participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985) which measured the caregiver’s subjective quality of life.

Preliminary analyses showed no significant differences in SWLS at baseline across groups (t = -0.67, p = .50). Results of a paired samples t-test found that immediately following the intervention, SWLS significantly improved in both treatment groups (t = -2.08, p = .02), with no significant differences between treatment groups (BPT-M vs. BPT-E; p > .05). However, results of repeated measures ANOVA indicated that across the four timepoints, there was not a significant impact of the intervention on SWLS, p > .05. Future analyses will examine the changes in life satisfaction over time using multilevel modeling and explore potential moderators of change in life satisfaction, such as parenting stress and social support.

Participants in the BPT-M and BPT-E groups experienced a positive increase in life satisfaction following the intervention, regardless of treatment group. However, there were no significant increases in life satisfaction at the 6-month and 12-month follow-ups. Nonetheless, our findings indicate the importance of examining the collateral benefits that parent stress reduction interventions have on caregivers beyond parent stress. Given the benefit of such interventions on overall life satisfaction in caregivers, future research should investigate the potential benefit of post-intervention booster sessions of continuous improvements in the life satisfaction of caregivers of children with DD.