Spirituality-Based Interventions for Parents of Children With Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Spirituality plays a vital role in the psychological well-being of parents with children with disabilities, and the contribution of spirituality-based interventions to the psychological well-being of various populations has been well established. The goal of the present study was to review existing data on the spirituality-based interventions of parents of children with disabilities to identify gaps in the existing knowledge and make recommendations for both research and practice. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, using APA PsycNet, Pubmed, and Eric ProQuest databases. Six articles were included in the review after a rigorous screening process. Four main themes emerged: mitigating caregiving strain, positive mental state and emotional regulation, coping and resilience, and parent-child relationship. The review showed that spirituality-based interventions may help to mitigate caregiving strain and stress and that spirituality-based interventions are associated with improvement in emotional state and regulation. Additionally, spirituality-based interventions can be useful for promoting coping and resilience among caregivers of children with disabilities. Finally, the review highlighted the potential of spirituality-based interventions for improving the parent-child relationship. There are significant gaps in the understanding of how to enhance parents' spirituality, particularly in relation to gender, culture, and nationality. It is concluded that disability policy should prioritize spirituality-based interventions for parents of children with disabilities, while also being mindful of cultural and religious diversity. Online platforms for spiritual interventions should be developed to reach a wider audience of service users.