Skip to content

Parent Perspectives of Applying Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Strategies to Special Education.

Meghan M Burke, Neilson Chan, Cameron L. Neece

Intellectual and developmental disabilities June 2017 DOI: 10.1352/1934-9556-55.3.167 (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 26
Population Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who completed a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention
Intervention Mindfulness-based stress reduction
Topics Meditation
Keywords Family-school relationships Individualized education programs Mindfulness-based stress reduction Parents
Key findings Most interviewed parents reported that special education meetings were stressful, that they used mindfulness strategies during IEP meetings, and that these strategies affected their perceptions of improvements in personal well-being, advocacy, family-school relationships, and access to services for their children.

Abstract

Parents of children with (versus without) intellectual and developmental disabilities report greater stress; such stress may be exacerbated by dissatisfaction with school services, poor parent-school partnerships, and the need for parent advocacy. Increasingly, mindfulness interventions have been used to reduce parent stress. However, it is unclear whether parents apply mindfulness strategies during the special education process to reduce school-related stress. To investigate whether mindfulness may reduce school-related stress, interviews were conducted with 26 parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who completed a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention. Participants were asked about their stress during meetings with the school, use of mindfulness strategies in communicating with the school, and the impact of such strategies. The majority of parent participants reported: special education meetings were stressful; they used mindfulness strategies during IEP meetings; and such strategies affected parents' perceptions of improvements in personal well-being, advocacy, family-school relationships, and access to services for their children. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... 2017 Qualitative study with mixed-methods
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system 2004 Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety 2006 Exploratory mixed methods study n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context 2001 Qualitative study n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators 2013 Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

Citations in the library

Cited by 2

Cites 3

Related reading

Explore topics

Meditation