Dr Brian Hughes Centre for Research on Occupational and Life Stress Psychosocial moderators of stress-related physical and mental ill-health in family caregivers Dr Brian Hughes Centre for Research on Occupational and Life Stress

Caregiving 160,000 carers in Ireland, 18,000 of whom aged 65+ Average number of caring hours increases as the carer’s age increases Older adults provide care in the home, mainly to spouses Demographic shifts Lee, E. (2009). Research and policy on psychological stress in caregivers: Bridging the divide. 2nd Annual Conference of the Irish Social Science Platform, Galway, December.

Caregiving: Stress and social support Caregiving a demanding task and a chronic stressor Stress long associated with poor health outcomes, physical and mental Psychosocial factors may help buffer against stress Social support Drawing on the emotional and task resources provided by others as a means of coping with stress Lee, E. (2009). Research and policy on psychological stress in caregivers: Bridging the divide. 2nd Annual Conference of the Irish Social Science Platform, Galway, December.

Families

“There are some things my child does that bother me a lot” Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities “There are some things my child does that bother me a lot” O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities “I find myself giving up more to meet my child’s needs than I ever expected” O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

“I feel trapped by my responsibilities as a parent” Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities “I feel trapped by my responsibilities as a parent” O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities “Having a child has caused more problems with my spouse than I expected” O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

“I feel alone and without friends” Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities “I feel alone and without friends” O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities r = -.54, p < .001 O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Carers’ mental health

Gallagher, S. , Phillips, A. C. , Oliver, C. , & Carroll, D. (2008) Gallagher, S., Phillips, A.C., Oliver, C., & Carroll, D. (2008). Predictors of psychological morbidity in parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 33, 1129-1136.

Mothers of children with autism (mean age = 9 yrs) Population norms Mental health and social support among mothers of children with autism (n = 95) Mothers of children with autism (mean age = 9 yrs) Population norms Depression (HADS) 7.81 3.00a Anxiety (HADS) 7.93 6.00a Perceived stress (PSS-10) 26.63 13.70b Social support network size (SSQ6-N) 2.70 4.09c Satisfaction with social support (SSQ6-S) 3.69 4.23c aCrawford et al. (2001), n = 978 bCohen (1994), n = 1,406 cHughes (2009), n = 100 Finnerty, Leader, et al. (in preparation). Factors associated with stress, anxiety and depression in mothers of children with autism

Social support network sizea Correlates of Social Support Network Size among mothers of children with autism (n = 95) Social support network sizea Depression (HADS) -.26** Anxiety (HADS) -.23* Perceived stress (PSS-10) -.24* Self-injurious behaviour in child (BPI) -.23* Stereotyped behaviour in child (BPI) -.22* Aggressive behaviour in child (BPI) -.30** aMeasured using SSQ6 *p < .05; **p < .01 Finnerty, Leader, et al. (in preparation). Factors associated with stress, anxiety and depression in mothers of children with autism

Stereotyped behaviours in childb +.61 < .001 Predictors of Life Stressa among mothers (n = 85) of children with autism enrolled in ABA schools β p Stereotyped behaviours in childb +.61 < .001 Social support network of motherc -.26 .002 Child’s age +.01 .907 Conduct problems in childb +.13 .167 Emotional symptoms in childb +.12 .187 Social interaction by childb +.21 .230 Other variables … … aMeasured using PSS-10 bMeasured using GARS-2 cMeasured using SSQ6 O’Shea, Leader, et al. (in preparation). Predictors of maternal stress for children with autism in ABA schools

Carers’ physical health

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities Clinical cut-off (66th percentile) 55.2% O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities r = +.54, p < .001 O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Parents (n = 43) of young children (aged 3-14) with intellectual disabilities O’Connor, C., & Hughes, B. M. (in preparation). Parental caregiving for a child with an intellectual disability:  Impact of social support and life stress on secretory immunoglobulin A and self-reported physical symptoms.

Control mothers (blue; n = 19) and mothers caring for children with chronic illness (red; n = 39)* *Mean age = 38 ± 6.5 yrs Epel, E. S., et al. (2004). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101:17312-5.

Women caregiving for relative with dementia (n = 36; mean age = 60 Women caregiving for relative with dementia (n = 36; mean age = 60.7 ± 6.65 yrs) r = -.31, p = .07 r = -.55, p = .001 O’Donovan, A. (2009). Threat-related psychological variables, inflammation, and cellular aging: Unrelated or interlinked? PhD thesis (K. Malone, B. M. Hughes, supervisors)

Women caregiving for relative with dementia (n = 36; mean age = 60 Women caregiving for relative with dementia (n = 36; mean age = 60.7 ± 6.65 yrs) r = -.34, p = .14 β = +.50, p = .02 O’Donovan, A. (2009). Threat-related psychological variables, inflammation, and cellular aging: Unrelated or interlinked? PhD thesis (K. Malone, B. M. Hughes, supervisors)

“High parasympathetic tone” (Stress resilience, etc.) Control group Maltreatment group Healthy profile RSA RSA Unhealthy profile HR HR “High parasympathetic tone” (Stress resilience, etc.) “Low parasympathetic tone” (PTSD, panic disorder, etc.) NIMH Grant 5R01 MH079328 to Elizabeth A. Skowron: Parent-Child Processes: Negative Self-Regulatory and Behavioral Outcomes. National Institute of Mental Health, 9/11/2007 through 6/30/2012.

Baseline Train Duplo Controls Maltreatment NIMH Grant 5R01 MH079328 to Elizabeth A. Skowron: Parent-Child Processes: Negative Self-Regulatory and Behavioral Outcomes. National Institute of Mental Health, 9/11/2007 through 6/30/2012.

Children’s outcomes

Data from: Reed, P. , Osborne, L. A. , & Corness, M. (2006) Data from: Reed, P., Osborne, L. A., & Corness, M. (2006). The real-world effectiveness of early teaching interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. Exceptional Children, 73, 414-433.

Home-based interventions for children with autism (n = 65), categorised by parental time input and stress Osborne, L. A., McHugh, L., Saunders, J., & Reed, P. (2008). Parenting stress reduces the effectiveness of early teaching interventions for autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1092-1103.

Socially supported coping