Effects of parent training on families of children with mental retardation: increased burden or generalized benefit?

Parents of children with mental retardation have become increasingly involved in special education, including training programs to facilitate teaching at home. Although some writers have argued that families accrue generalized psychological benefits of such participation, others have cautioned that the result may be increasing the burden of child-rearing. Forty-nine families of children with mental retardation were assessed before and after a parent training program, on a variety of parent, marital, and family measures. Parents reported high satisfaction with the program and showed small but statistically significant decreases in reports of symptoms of depression, parent and family problems, overall family stress, and dissatisfaction with the family's adaptability. Family characteristics were also predictive of teaching at home one year following training. The families that reported doing the least productive teaching had entered training reporting greater child-related stress and lower satisfaction with the marriage and the family.