1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

5. Families

6. “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.

7. 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.

8. “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.

9. 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.

10. “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.

11. 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.

13. Carers’ mental health

14. 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,

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

19. Carers’ physical health

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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:

31. 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)

32. 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)

33. “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 MH 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.

34. Baseline
Train
Duplo
Controls
Maltreatment
NIMH Grant 5R01 MH 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.

36. Children’s outcomes

37. 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,

38. 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,

40. Socially supported coping