Conventional vs Mindfulness Intervention in Parents of Children With Disabilities

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请涉及比较有效性研究的广泛挑战领域（05），05- at -102*补充和替代医学的比较有效性研究。这个应用程序的标题是：残疾儿童父母的传统与正念干预。在美国，整整五分之一的儿童患有发育障碍，而自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的患病率尤其高（150名儿童中有1名）。多达20%的美国家庭正在抚养有发育障碍的孩子，这些父母比正常发育的孩子的父母承受更大的压力，以及更多的抑郁、焦虑、健康和精神健康问题。残疾儿童家庭面临的经济困难加剧了负面结果。虽然父母的压力在许多类型的残疾中都有所增加，但自闭症儿童的父母尤其容易产生负面的心理和经济后果。这个应用程序比较了传统的家长小组干预与改进的基于正念的减压（MBSR）计划在自闭症儿童和其他残疾儿童的父母中的有效性。家长团体被广泛用于提供信息、支持和倡导。正念减压法对有医学、精神或其他问题的人有效，通过正念训练和练习来教授减压。与传统的父母群体相比，我们的研究表明，以正念为基础的干预措施在减轻压力和改善残疾儿童父母的健康和心理健康方面可能特别有效。我们将随机分配400名ASD或其他残疾儿童的父母，将他们分成6周的家长组和修改后的正念减压计划组，收集父母健康状况、积极和消极心理状态以及压力生物标志物指标的数据。来自干预前、中期和4个干预后时间点的数据将用于分层线性建模，分析还将评估干预效果在母亲、父亲、少数民族父母或儿童诊断中是否存在差异。残疾儿童的失业父母将被聘为研究助理，并接受培训，指导家长小组或修改后的正念减压计划干预措施。同侪导师是倡导和支持的有效提供者。雇佣失业的残疾儿童的父母符合ARRA的直接要求，并证明了在未来大规模的公共卫生工作中雇佣父母的可行性，旨在减轻美国20%抚养残疾儿童的家庭的压力，改善健康结果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application addresses the Broad Challenge area of Comparative Effectiveness Research (05), 05-AT-102* Comparative Effectiveness Studies of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This application is entitled: Conventional vs Mindfulness Intervention in Parents of Children with Disabilities. A full 1 in 5 children in the US has a developmental disability, and the prevalence rate for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is especially high (1 in 150 children). As many as 20% of US families are raising children with developmental disabilities, and these parents experience more stress than parents of typically- developing children, as well as more depression, anxiety, and health and mental health problems. Negative outcomes are complicated by increased economic hardships faced by families of children with disabilities. Although parental stress is elevated in many types of disabilities, parents of children with ASD are especially prone to negative psychological and economic outcomes. This application compares the effectiveness of a conventional Parent Group intervention to a modified Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program in parents of children with ASD and other disabilities. Parent groups are widely-used to provide information, support, 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, our 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. We will randomly assign 400 parents of children with ASD or other disabilities to 6 weeks of a Parent Group versus a modified MBSR program group, and collect data on parental health, positive and negative psychological states, and biomarker indices of stress. Data from pre, mid, and 4 post intervention time points will be used in hierarchical linear modeling, and analyses will also assess if intervention effects differ across mothers, fathers, minority parents, or child diagnoses. Unemployed parents of children with disabilities will be hired as research assistants and trained to conduct either the Parent Group or modified MBSR program interventions. Peer-mentors are effective providers of advocacy and support. Hiring unemployed parents of children with disabilities meets the immediate ARRA mandate and demonstrates the feasibility of hiring parents in future large-scale public health efforts aimed at reducing stress and improving healthy outcomes in the 20% of US families who are raising children with disabilities. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A full 1 in 5 children has a developmental disability, and parents of children with disabilities have significantly high rates of stress, and health and mental health problems than parents of typically- developing children. This study tests the effectiveness of two different interventions, both aimed at reducing stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders or other disabilities (a Parent Group model versus a modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program). This study will shed new light on how to best reduce stress and increase health and well-being in up to 20% of US families who are raising children with developmental disabilities.