Psychological Flexibility Is Associated with Parental Stress in Relatives of People with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between psychological flexibility, perceived stress, and psychological heath in relatives of people with a disability diagnosis. 151 relatives completed an online questionnaire that included 6-PAQ (parental psychological flexibility), PSS (perceived stress), GHQ-12 (psychological health) and WBSI (suppression of unwanted thoughts). The results showed significant relationships between the four measured variables. A bimodal distribution was observed in the variables related to psychological flexibility. The multiple regression showed that difficulties in self as context, committed actions and defusion explain a high percentage of the variance of parental stress and general psychological health. The study provides new evidence to consider psychological flexibility as a mediating variable in psychological well-being. The presented data served as the basis for the development of an ACT-based intervention protocol and the implementation of a clinical trial for relatives of children with disabilities.