Psychological Intervention in Parents of Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using a Brief Protocol Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
David Lobato, Francisco Montesinos, Eduardo Polín and 3 others
PMID 40996691WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of children with intellectual disabilities who completed a three-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy workshop reported less psychological inflexibility and better general health.
They also self-reported fewer punitive and more supportive interactions with their children, with changes maintained at three-month follow-up.
Key findings
01Psychological inflexibility and the tendency to suppress private events decreased significantly, while general health improved, with medium-to-large effect sizes maintained at three-month follow-up.
02Parents self-reported an increase in supportive/accompanying behaviours and a decrease in punitive/hostile behaviours towards their children throughout the intervention.
03Parents with higher baseline psychological inflexibility showed a greater magnitude of clinical change after the intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling and combined data from two different investigations, one of which lacked randomisation. Parent-child interaction outcomes were based on self-report without prior training in behavioural observation, which may affect reliability. The sample was predominantly female (81.4%), so results may not generalise to fathers. Key variables such as the child's level of externalising behaviour, socioeconomic status, and the specific degree of disability interference were not controlled for. Medium-to-long term maintenance of behavioural changes (beyond 3 months) was not assessed.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Funding was provided by Universidad Europea de Madrid.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this intervention is proven effective for reducing parental stress in the short term. Perceived stress did not show a statistically significant change immediately after the intervention (p = 0.110), with significant reduction only appearing at the 3-month follow-up.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →