Strengthening the social relationships of mothers with learning difficulties

Abstract

Mothers with learning difficulties are often isolated within their local communities. They also report low levels of social support. Social disconnection is associated with high levels of stress and poorer mental health, and in turn, adverse parenting and child outcomes. In the study reported here, a multi-site, intervention group only, repeated measures research design was employed to determine the efficacy of a group-based, adult-learning programme designed to strengthen the social relationships and improve the psychological wellbeing of mothers with learning difficulties. Thirtytwo mothers with learning difficulties completed the programme across six sites in Australia. The effects of the programmeon perceived social support and psychological wellbeing were substantially greater than established benchmarks for parent-training and family support programmes. These promising findings warrant further investigation, ideally employing a randomised-controlled trial design. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.