Background: Young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities lack access to mental health supports. Peer-delivered services may fill this gap. We adapted a theory-driven and evidence-based peer mentoring intervention for virtual-delivery and investigated its acceptability and participants' preliminary response. Methods: Twelve…

This 10-year study followed 134 caregivers of young adults with autism and intellectual disability, examining the effects of caregivers' coping strategies, sociodemographic features, and young adult symptomatology on caregiver well-being and depression. Lower caregiver education and higher young adult externalizing behaviors predicted lower…

The severity of physical, cognitive, and social-emotional challenges in children with developmental disabilities significantly impacts their quality of life. One of the most consistent factors that play a role in the quality of life for children with a developmental disability is parental resilience. Previous research has identified several…

Mothers of children with developmental disabilities suffer from tremendous stress and anxiety. These mothers may use religion and spirituality as coping mechanisms to help them adjust to changes emerging in their lives as well as to resolve problems. This study evaluated the spiritual needs of mothers of children with developmental disabilities…

It is imperative that we devote resources and research effort to find out what is going on in families where there is a member with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) over the course of the COVID 19 pandemic and how adaptations can be made to provide the most effective help. This article discusses the need for more research to be…

Research has shown the parenting responsibilities that come with a child with special needs differ from the responsibilities of parenting a normally developing child (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012). To provide adequate levels of care for children with special needs parents may endure challenging experiences, resulting in parents becoming…

Background: Parenting an individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can be challenging, particularly during adulthood. It is important to better understand ways of supporting families as individuals with IDD age. Self-compassion is a potential internal coping resource for parents, and is strongly linked to positive mental…

Among aging parents (mean age = 65, "N" = 139) of adults with developmental disabilities, we examined the effectiveness of multiple forms of coping with caregiver burden. As expected, accommodative strategies of adapting to stress (secondary engagement), used frequently in later life, buffered the impact of caregiver burden, whereas…

Depression is a serious disorder with severe and far-reaching consequences. Two decades of observational research have shown robust associations between maternal depression and adverse consequences on offspring (S. Campbell et al., 2004; S. Campbell, P. Matestic, C. von Stauffenberg, R. Mohan, & T. Kirchner, 2007; S. Campbell, A. Morgan-Lopez,…

Background: Previous research indicates that work stress contributes to intentions to quit among direct care workers (DCWs) who provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). Though resources can help DCWs cope and remain in a job, little is known about how various dimensions of work stress and resources (social…

The goals of the study were to examine the relations between maternal coping and hope among mothers who participated in early intervention program for their infants. Earlier studies focused attention on mothers' experiences of stress and their coping. Within the salutogenic construct, we aim at examining relations between mothers' coping and hope…

Work stress is endemic among direct care workers (DCWs) who serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Social resources, such as work social support, and personal resources, such as an internal locus of control, may help DCWs perceive work overload and other work-related stressors as less threatening and galvanize them to cope…

This study examined stress-support in 42 families of 3- to 18-year-old children with Prader-Willi Syndrome. While children's age, intelligence quotient, and degree of obesity were not related to familial stress, families experienced greater stress when children showed more behavior problems overall, more externalizing and internalizing problems,…

Parents in 102 families of 3- to 5-year-old children with developmental delays were interviewed concerning religion. Although direct measures of peace of mind and emotional adjustment did not differ between religious and nonreligious families, religious parents more often emphasized parental nurturance and described their child as an opportunity…

Families having the extraordinary caretaking demands of a developmentally delayed child are at risk for added stress, social isolation, and reduced feelings of autonomy. Stress-coping theories relevant to these families are reviewed, and specific social work roles are recommended for maintaining and developing "normalized" family resoures.…