2-hour classes and half-day retreat - 30-minute dail

1
A community-based MBSR program for parents and
caregivers of individuals with developmental
disabilities Alicia T. Bazzano, MD, MPH1,3
Christiane Wolf, MD2 Lidia Zylowska, MD4 Steven
Wang, MPH, MPP1 Christopher Barrett, MA3 Erica
Schuster, BA1 Romeo Sanchez, PhD5 Danise
Lehrer, LAc, LCSW1 1Westside Regional Center,
2InsightLA, 3Health Services, UCLA, 4Mindfulness
Awareness Research Center, UCLA, 5Information
Sciences Institute, USC
Results (cont.)
Introduction
Results
Figures 1 2. Effects of MBSR intervention on
mindfulness score and parental stress over time
for fall and spring classes.

• Parents and caregivers of individuals with
• developmental disabilities experience
  considerable
• stress, which has been linked to lower quality of
  life,
• unhealthy family functioning, negative
  psychological
• impacts, and increased parenting strain
  1,2,3,4,5,6,7
• Few programs have addressed caregiver stress in
• families of individuals with developmental
  disabilities
• We describe the development, delivery, and
• evaluation of an adapted MBSR program to
• parents and caregivers in a community-based
• organization

Table 1. Select demographics of MBSR participants
from three classes.
PSS
MAAS
Objectives
Table 3. How mindfulness affects parenting
stress a multivariate linear regression model
controlling for demographics (N55).

• Designing an adapted MBSR program for parents
  and caregivers
• Assessing the effects of MBSR program on general
  and parenting stress, mindfulness,
  self-compassion, and psychological well-being
  immediately following the 8-week training and 2
  months following the intervention

Methods

• Select Quotes From Program Participants
• What of lasting value/importance did you gain
  from the program?
• A new way of looking at life and dealing with
  stress. A way to calm myself downI have been
  feeling much better and calmer with my son.
• Balance, calmness, and peace of mind for the
  family and the rest of my life.
• I learned to STOPStop, Take a breath, Observe,
  and Proceedwhen dealing with my child.
• I found a way to be centered in the midst of
  the storm of my sons many challenging behaviors,
  such as self-injury, aggression, and lack of
  communication.

• Design A pilot study of an adapted MBSR program
  for parents and caregivers with pre-/post- and
  2-month post-training outcome measures including
  parental and general stress (PSS and PSS10),
  mindfulness (MAAS), self-compassion (SCS), and
  psychological well-being (PWB)
• Program Description
• Community-Based Participatory Research
• - Parents input in planning the study,
  adapting the curriculum, recruiting participants,
  determining outcome measures, implementing the
  program, and reviewing results
• Recruitment
• - Engagement of parent leaders and active
  support groups
• - Newsletter articles targeting families and
  caregivers
• - 1-hour introductory mindfulness sessions
• 8-week adapted MBSR program
• - 2-hour classes and half-day retreat
• - 30-minute daily CD-guided practice
• - Morning and evening classes
• - Free CD players
• - Free childcare/respite for parents
• - Free taxi vouchers

Table 2. Paired t-test analysis of the effects of
MBSR intervention on mindfulness, parental
stress, general stress, psychological well-being,
and self-compassion.
p.05 p.01
Community Level Results Parents participation
as partners in this research resulted in improved
ability to address specific needs of parents and
caregivers, select appropriate evaluation tools,
guide in-class discussions, and interpret and
disseminate results.
PSS Parental Stress Scale (n58), PSS10
Perceived Stress Scale 10-item (n64), MAAS
Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (n64), PWB
Psychological Well-Being scale (n65), SCS
Self-Compassion Scale (n65)
Acknowledgments
Conclusions
A community-based MBSR program is a feasible and
potentially effective intervention for reducing
stress and improving psychological well-being for
parents and caregivers of individuals with
developmental disabilities. Additional
controlled studies are needed to replicate the
findings and further investigate the effect of
cultural and socioeconomic factors on the
outcomes of the intervention.
This project was made possible through funding
provided by the Robert Ellis Simon Foundation and
the Achievable Foundation, as well as in-kind
support provided by Westside Regional Center.
For more information, please contact Dr. Alicia
Bazzano (aliciab_at_westsiderc.org) or Dr.
Christiane Wolf (christiane_at_insightla.org).
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