Effectiveness of a stress-relief initiative for primary caregivers of adolescents with intellectual disability

Abstract

Background This study provides a perspective on the mental health status and analyses the effectiveness of a stress-relief program for primary caregivers of adolescents with intellectual disability (ID).

Method Seventy-seven primary caregivers of people with ID were recruited (intervention group, n = 31; non-intervention group, n = 46) to the study, which involved participation in one stress management workshop (intervention group only) and both groups reading an education booklet on stress management.

Results We found that 22.1% of caregivers in the study were at high risk of depressive stress and in need of mental health consultation; this prevalence was nearly six times that of the general population. The effectiveness of mental health initiatives resulted in a significant reduction in depressive stress for the intervention group.

Conclusions The study highlights that a “face-to-face” workshop is an effective way to decrease levels of depressive stress.

Keywords:

• caregiver
• depression
• intellectual disability
• mental health
• Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ)

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Bureau of Health Promotion, Ministry of Health, Taiwan (DOH97-HP-1601). We would also like to thank Dr C. K. Chen for the mental health workshops and all the participants (caregivers and staff in three special schools) who took part in the study. In addition, the authors wish to acknowledge the kindness of John Tung Foundation, who agreed to our use of the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) in the study.