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. 2012 Nov;21(4):261-9.

Stress and relief: parents attending a respite program

John D McLennan  1 , Jenna Doig, Carmen Rasmussen, Emily Hutcheon, Liana Urichuk
Affiliations

Stress and relief: parents attending a respite program

John D McLennan et al. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012 Nov.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine changes in stress among parents of children with special needs in a respite service and consider parental experience of the service.

Methods: Families who were enrolled in a ten-month centre-based respite program were invited to participate in the evaluation. Change in parent stress, indexed by the Parent Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), was determined. These results were compared with findings from exploratory qualitative interviews with a subset of parents and a small comparison group who also completed the PSI-SF.

Results: At baseline, 69% of parents (n=45) had high total stress scores on the PSI-SF. No significant improvements were detected on parent stress over time or differences from improvements in the comparison group. In contrast, the subgroup of parents (n=10) who participated in the qualitative interviews described substantial benefits from the respite program including a sense of relief and having time for other activities.

Conclusions: It is proposed that the respite program may have provided a temporary break to parents thereby bestowing a sense of relief, but was not adequate to impact on more chronic stress patterns, suggesting that these are related but separate constructs and experiences.

Objectif:: Les objectifs de cette étude étaient d’examiner les changements de stress chez les parents d’enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux dans un service de relève, et d’examiner l’expérience parentale du service.

Méthodes:: Les familles qui étaient inscrites à un programme de relève en centre de 10 mois ont été invitées à participer à l’évaluation. Le changement de stress parental, mesuré par la version abrégée du Parent Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), a été déterminé. Ces résultats ont été comparés avec ceux d’entrevues qualitatives exploratoires menées auprès d’un sous-ensemble de parents et d’un petit groupe de comparaison qui ont aussi rempli le PSI-SF.

Résultats:: Au départ, 69 % des parents (n=45) avaient des scores totaux élevés de stress au PSI-SF. Aucune amélioration significative n’a été détectée dans le stress des parents avec le temps, ni de différences par rapport aux améliorations du groupe de comparaison. Par contre, le sous-groupe de parents (n=10) qui ont participé aux entrevues qualitatives ont décrit des avantages substantiels tirés du programme de relève, notamment un sentiment de soulagement et d’avoir du temps pour d’autres activités.

Conclusions:: Il est proposé que le programme de relève puisse avoir fourni aux parents une détente temporaire leur procurant ainsi un sentiment de soulagement, mais qu’il ne suffisait pas à influer sur des modèles de stress plus chroniques, ce qui suggère que ces derniers sont des constructions et expériences reliées mais distinctes.

Keywords: mixed methods; parent; respite care; stress.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patterns of parent Total Stress Scores over time
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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