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Social support is associated with blood pressure responses in parents caring for children with developmental

Stephen Gallagher1, Jenny Whiteley

  • 1Centre for Social Issues, Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Ireland. stephen.gallagher@ul.ie

Research in Developmental Disabilities
|July 10, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Parents of children with developmental disabilities have higher blood pressure. Social support may buffer these effects, highlighting the need for caregiver interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Health Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cardiovascular Health

Background:

  • Caregivers of children with developmental disabilities face unique stressors.
  • Chronic stress in caregivers may impact cardiovascular health.
  • Psychosocial factors require investigation in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare blood pressure (BP) in parents of children with developmental disabilities versus controls.
  • To examine psychosocial factors (stress, child behavior, social support) associated with BP.
  • To determine if psychosocial factors mediate the relationship between caregiving and BP.

Main Methods:

  • Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for one day.
  • Standardized questionnaires for perceived stress, child challenging behaviors, and social support.
  • Comparison of BP and psychosocial measures between caregiver groups (N=65).

Main Results:

  • Parents of children with developmental disabilities exhibited higher mean systolic BP than controls.
  • Poorer psychosocial functioning was reported by the caregiver group.
  • Social support emerged as a significant predictor of BP, partially mediating group differences.

Conclusions:

  • Caregiving for children with developmental disabilities is associated with elevated BP.
  • Social support plays a crucial role in modulating BP responses in parental caregivers.
  • Psychosocial interventions are vital for improving the health and well-being of family caregivers.

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