Hope as a psychological resilience factor in mothers and fathers of children with intellectual disabilities.
When parents believe they can reach goals, they feel less depressed and more positive.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked moms and dads of kids with intellectual disability to fill out short surveys. They measured two parts of hope: agency ("I can make things happen") and pathways ("I can find routes around problems"). Then they looked at how these scores lined up with parent mood.
What they found
Parents who said "I can reach my goals" felt less depressed and more upbeat. The combo of high agency plus clear pathways gave the biggest mood lift. Hope acted like a shield against the daily stress of raising a child with ID.
How this fits with other research
Ozturk et al. (2025) extends this idea. Their meta-analysis of 15 studies shows teaching parents self-compassion also slashes depression and stress. Hope and self-compassion are cousin skills; both give parents an internal buffer.
Krafft et al. (2019) paint a fuller picture. They interviewed parents of transition-age youth with autism and found big hopes, but also fear and no roadmap. The 2009 numbers say hope protects mood; the 2019 voices say parents still need concrete guides to turn hope into plans.
Douma et al. (2006) is a predecessor that asked the same parents what help they actually get. Most said they needed counseling but did not receive it. Together the two papers argue: boost hope, then back it with real services.
Why it matters
You can strengthen hope in small ways. Break a big goal into baby steps, celebrate each win, and let parents tell you what matters most. Pair this with self-compassion prompts: "What would you say to a friend in your shoes?" Five minutes at the start or end of a session can raise agency and mood, making parents better partners for their child and for you.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Positive psychology is an area gaining credence within the field of intellectual disability (ID). Hope is one facet of positive psychology that is relatively unstudied in parents of children with ID. In the present study, we explore hope and its relationships with parental well-being in parents of school-aged children with ID. METHOD: A total of 138 mothers and 58 fathers of children with ID took part in a questionnaire-based study. Parents reported on their feelings of hope and positive affect, other dimensions of psychological well-being (anxiety, depression and stress), and on their child's behaviour. For this study, hope was measured as a goal driven behaviour comprising two components: agency (the perception that one can reach his/her goals) and pathways (the perception that one can find alternative routes to reach these goals should the need arise). RESULTS: For mothers, regression analyses revealed that lower levels of hope (agency and pathways) and more child behaviour problems predicted maternal depression. Positive affect was predicted by less problematic child behaviour and by higher levels of hope agency. For fathers, anxiety and depression were predicted by low hope agency and positive affect was predicted by high hope agency. Hope pathways was not a significant predictor of paternal well-being. Hope agency and pathways interacted in the prediction of maternal depression such that mothers reporting high levels of both hope dimensions reported the lowest levels of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Hope is a construct that merits further investigation within families research, and is potentially a factor that could be utilised in intervention to help increase familial well-being.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2009 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01206.x