Supporting Parents of Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review of Interventions.

BACKGROUND

This review aimed to synthesise the literature about interventions for parents of adolescents with intellectual disability, including parental experience of receiving interventions and intervention effectiveness.

METHODS

Eligible interventions aimed to improve parenting skills and/or parent-adolescent relationships, adolescent behavioural/emotional problems and/or parent well-being. ASSIA, EMBASE, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science were last searched on 11 July 2024. The TIDieR checklist and the MMAT were used for quality appraisal. A narrative synthesis was conducted. (Pre-registration: PROSPERO CRD42022384409).

RESULTS

Twelve studies with 1041 families were included. Intervention descriptions were detailed; however, study quality was mixed. Nearly all studies reported the intervention was associated with positive effects on parenting, parent-adolescent relationships, adolescent behaviour/emotional problems or parent well-being. Three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) offer the strongest evidence but are limited in quality. All studies investigating parent experiences reported positive responses.

CONCLUSIONS

High-quality studies (e.g., RCTs) are needed to enable conclusions about efficacy and effectiveness.