The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Improving the Mental Health of Parents of Children with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders March 13, 2025 Tingting Yang, Yufei Wang, Ping Xu et al. 3 citations
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 studies (1124 participants) found that mindfulness-based interventions moderately reduce stress, depressive symptoms, distress, and anxiety in parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and also improve parent-child relationships. Interventions lasting eight weeks or more and those targeting only parents showed some positive effects on parent-child relationships or stress. The evidence for enhancing parental mindfulness itself remains inconclusive. The authors call for large-scale randomized controlled trials to further assess effectiveness.