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. 2025 Jan 30;11(4):e42389.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42389. eCollection 2025 Feb 28.

The impact of an agro-healing program on family resilience, parental stress, and social skills of children with developmental disabilities

Hyo-Jung Son  1 , Sin-Ae Park  1   2
Affiliations

The impact of an agro-healing program on family resilience, parental stress, and social skills of children with developmental disabilities

Hyo-Jung Son et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Developmental disabilities pose challenges for the entire family, making it crucial to enhance family resilience and promote a positive outlook for all members. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an agro-healing program based on horticultural activities using a family resilience framework among families with children with developmental disabilities in South Korea. A total of 15 participants, including children with developmental disabilities, from 6 families were recruited for the research. The program entailed conducting a 90-min agro-healing program based on horticultural activities for 8 weeks; a total of 8 sessions were delivered weekly. The Family Resilience Scale, Family Adaptability Scale, Korean Perceived Stress Scale, Social Skills Rating Scale, and Satisfaction Survey Questionnaire were utilized to evaluate the program's impact. The analysis of the agro-healing program's effects revealed that family resilience in families with children with developmental disabilities improved significantly. Additionally, the parents' stress levels decreased, and social skills of the children with developmental disabilities improved. The agro-healing program based on horticultural activities can serve as a social support measure to enhance psychological and social well-being and aid recovery in families with children with developmental disabilities.

Keywords: Family support; Gardening; Green care; Horticultural therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Agro-healing program applying family resilience framework.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Examples of the agro-healing program.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Participants' preferences for sessions of the agro-healing program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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