The Effects of a Brief Culturally Tailored Thai Mindfulness Intervention on Stress, Anxiety, and Mindfulness in Thai Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DDs) often suffer from
psychological distress stemming from their children’s behavioral problems. One cause of
distress is their challenge to accept their children’s illnesses mindfully. A culturally
tailored and readily accessible mindfulness intervention may increase mindfulness and
reduce distress. Also, there were insufficient studies regarding culturally relevant
mindfulness trainings that have been conducted in Thailand. Therefore, a Brief Culturally
Tailored Thai Mindfulness intervention (BCTTMi) was developed, merging the work of
Jon Kabat-Zinn with Buddhist philosophy. The purpose of this study was to examine the
effects of the BCTTMi on stress, anxiety, and mindfulness in these parents.
An experimental waitlist control crossover design with the 2-weekend BCTTMi
was employed in 22 Thai parents and caregivers of children with DDs. They were all
Thais and Buddhists; more than half had practiced meditation. They completed three Thai-version questionnaires: (a) the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form-4th edition; (b) the
State Anxiety Inventory-Form-Y-1; and (c) the Mindfulness Assessment Scale, at three
measurements (baseline, posttest, and two-week follow-up). Repeated measure ANOVA
analyses were used to analyze data.
The findings showed that anxiety significantly decreased from baseline to
posttest, and mindfulness significantly increased with the BCTTMi. Nevertheless, stress
did not significantly reduce over time, and change between intervention and control
conditions did not differ for anxiety level. Moreover, there were no differences in any
outcomes from posttest to two-week follow-up.
In spite of Buddhist homogeneity of participants and sustained stress, mindfulness
increased, and anxiety decreased following the BCTTMi. These findings indicate the
feasibility of tailoring the mindfulness-based training to specific cultures and its
usefulness as an efficient option for parents and caregivers of children with DDs.
Further studies regarding the BCTTMi are warranted in broader populations and settings.