SynthesisJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Improving the Mental Health of Parents of Children with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychological interventions and mental health outcomes among caregivers of children with intellectual disability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Meta-Review of Mindfulness-Based and Mindfulness-Integrated Programs with Parents and Families: Evidence from Over 25 Years of Research.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2026Article
- Supporting Children With a Chronic Disease and Their Parents When Admitted to Hospital: A Scoping Review of Psychosocial Supports.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2026Article
- Mindfulness and communication intervention for mothers of children with developmental disabilities in Yangon: A randomized controlled trial on parental stress and problem-solving communication.International journal of nursing sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in improving the mental health of parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), specifically focusing on outcomes such as parental stress, anxiety, depression, and parent-child relationships. A systematic search was conducted across multiple databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and others, up to December 2024. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed bias risk using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Studies involving parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities who received mindfulness-based interventions and reported psychological outcomes were included. The meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 software, with a random effects model applied. This systematic review included 15 studies (1124 participants), of which 14 were used for meta-analysis (1078 participants). The results indicate that mindfulness-based interventions reduced the stress levels [SMD = - 0.26, 95% CI (- 0.49, - 0.04)], depressive symptoms [SMD = - 0.37, 95% CI (- 0.66, - 0.08)], distress [SMD = - 0.26, 95% CI (- 0.43, - 0.09)] and anxiety symptoms[SMD = - 0.35, 95% CI (- 0.66, - 0.04)] of parents of children with IDDs, while also improving parent-child relationships [SMD = - 0.32, 95% CI (- 0.05, - 0.58)], although the effects were moderate. Subgroup analyses revealed that interventions lasting 8 weeks or more [SMD =- 0.41, 95% CI (-0.67, -0.14)] and those targeting only the parents [SMD = - 0.26, 95% CI (- 0.44, - 0.08)] showed some positive effects in improving parent-child relationships or parent stress. Mindfulness-based interventions appear to have a positive effect on improving the mental health of parents of children with IDDs. However, the evidence of their effectiveness in enhancing parental mindfulness remains inconclusive. Future studies should consider the key factors influencing intervention implementation and optimize the design of large-scale randomized controlled trials to systematically and comprehensively assess the effectiveness and applicability of mindfulness-based interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40080346What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.