Interventions to improve parental mental health and psychological well-being in parents of adolescents with a diagnosis of ASD and/or ADHD: A systematic review

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Parents of children with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), report higher stress levels and mental health difficulties compared to parents of typically developing children. The adolescent period can present particular challenges and there is a need to better understand how best to support parents’ mental health during this time. This systematic review examines the effectiveness of interventions focused on improving the mental health of parents of adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions and synthesises details about the intervention characteristics. We included 31 peer-reviewed papers describing 19 unique mental health interventions for parents of children aged between 10 and 19 years and diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions. Studies were retrieved from nine databases and their quality was appraised using Joanna Briggs Institute quality assessment. Results are reported using narrative synthesis. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI), examined in 23 studies, reported significant reductions in stress levels and improved trait mindfulness, whilst reductions of depressive symptoms and anxiety were mixed. Psychoeducation-based interventions (PEBI), reported in 5 studies, showed significant increases in self-efficacy and reduction of depressive symptoms, but not in stress. Therapeutic-based interventions (e.g., CBT, ACT) were the focus of 4 studies and findings among them were inconclusive. Most interventions were implemented in the format of psychoeducational lectures (17 studies), and mindfulness-based techniques (22 studies) in group settings (25 studies), with eight to nine 90-minute sessions. Whereas research in interventions supporting parental mental health is in its infancy, there is some support that mindfulness-based intervention and psychoeducation can be helpful. • Mindfulness-based interventions are effective in improving trait mindfulness and stress, but their effectiveness regarding depressive and anxiety symptoms was mixed. • Psychoeducation-based interventions are effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving self-efficacy. • Most interventions were group-based with eight to nine sessions, and most used components were discussions and mindfulness-based techniques • Only 12 studies were randomised controlled trials, highlighting the relative newness of the area and the need for more investigations. • The lack of reported information in studies indicates the need for a more transparent methodology when evaluating new intervention studies.