EFFECTIVENESS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS IN REDUCING STRESS AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Abstract

Background: Raising children and adolescents with developmental disabilities is highly straining on parents, thus resulting in their heightened stress levels. The poor psychological well-being of parents, precipitated by the high levels of stress, paves way to understand the efficacy of psychological interventions in enabling parents to improve their stress. Aims: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing stress among parents of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across seven databases from point of inception to December 2018. The studies were individually appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool by the main reviewer and a second reviewer was consulted when discrepancies arise. The main reviewer extracted relevant data for the meta-analysis. Data was synthesised using RevMan software 5.3. Treatment effect was evaluated using z test with pvalue set at 0.05 while heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran’s Q and I2. Results: Eighteen studies were included in the review. Eleven studies were involved in meta-analysis and the remaining seven studies were summarised narratively. The meta-analysis unveiled that psychological interventions significantly reduced stress among parents of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities at post intervention, however, these effects were not sustained three to six months post intervention. Psychological interventions are not efficacious in reducing depression and anxiety experienced by these parents. Variations in psychological interventions and the methods of delivery did not affect their overall effectiveness in reducing parental stress. x Conclusions and Implications: Psychological interventions appear to reduce parental stress in short-term. More high-quality studies with large sample size are needed to further support the effectiveness of such interventions. Healthcare professionals can consider alternative treatment, such as prescribing psychiatric medications, adjunct to psychological interventions to improve mental wellbeing of these parents in the long run.