Effectiveness of Psycho-Educational Intervention in Lowering Stress Levels among Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Background: Intellectual Disability (ID), previously referred to as Mental Retardation (MR), is a neurodevelopmental condition marked by considerable deficits in both intellectual and adaptive functioning. Intellectual disability affects 1% to 3% of children globally. Welcoming a child with a disability into a family and nurturing them into adulthood presents one of the greatest challenges a family may face. Psychoeducational Interventions (Group / Individual) have been developed for parents and siblings which has positively helped them to deal with the stress. These structured intervention programs based on education, skills acquisition, and the development of coping strategies have been shown to alleviate stress-related problems. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions in alleviating stress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Methodology: Sampling; A purposive sample of 40 participants was selected for the study. 40 Parents (Mother) (20 Experimental; 20 Controls). Assessment tool; The Perceived Stress Scale, Sheldon Cohen et.al (1988) (PSS-10). Study design; Quasi-experimental design. Study plan; after obtaining informed, and written consent from the parent, data was collected in Hindi and Marathi using the Assessment tool Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) for measuring Stress before intervention. The Psychoeducational Intervention Plan for the experimental group consisted of a total of fifteen sessions which included understanding the problems, psycho-education about Intellectual Disabilities, counseling, journaling, yoga, and meditation. Post-test data collection was done after 20 weeks of pre-test evaluation. Results: Results revealed a significant difference with respect to the reduction in stress in parents in the EG as compared to CG due to psychoeducational interventions, with a t-value of 12.631(df=38) (p<0.01).