Emotion Regulation Is Associated with Anxiety, Depression and Stress in Adults with Cerebral Palsy

Emotion regulation difficulties are associated with many neurological conditions and negatively impact daily function. Yet little is known about emotion regulation in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). Our aim was to investigate emotion regulation in adults with CP and its relationship with condition-related and/or socio-demographic factors. In a cross-sectional study of adults with CP, participants completed a survey containing the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and socio-demographic and condition-related questions. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared and Mann–Whitney tests were performed. Of the 42 adults with CP (x31.5 years, SD13.5) that were tested, 38 had within normal limits DERS total scores; however, a significantly higher proportion of participants experienced elevated scores (i.e., more difficulties with emotion regulation) than would be expected in the general population across five of the six DERs subdomains. Moderate–extremely severe depression and anxiety symptoms were reported by 33% and 60% of participants, respectively. The DERS total scores for participants with elevated depression, anxiety, and stress scores were significantly higher than the DERS totals score for those without elevated depression, anxiety, and stress scores. DERS and DASS-21 scores did not differ significantly by condition-related nor socio-demographic characteristics. In conclusion, emotion regulation difficulties were associated with elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety, which were overrepresented in the adults with CP participating in this study

Keeping Children with a Disability Safely in their Families

With the trend towards keeping children with a disability in their families, intervention practices are seeking to ensure child safety. A research project in New South Wales, Australia, aimed to discover whether particular support programme(s) for children with a disability and their families significantly and positively influenced outcomes for the child and family, and if significant positive change did occur, which programme elements, strategies and/or techniques significantly contributed to positive client outcomes. Families in crisis and their support workers participated in the research and were followed and interviewed using quantitative and qualitative methods, at instigation of intervention, immediately post-intervention, at six and at twelve months post-intervention. Measurements of empowerment, emotional support, parent-child involvement, abuse potential, family functioning, symptom reduction, hope, happiness and worker-client alliance were used to gather data, as were qualitative interviews. Analyses indicated that the interventions improved families' levels of well-being and functioning and were significantly successful in reducing child abuse potential. Specific worker strategies and programme elements were found to be associated with these improvements and are discussed in detail. Safety of children with disabilities can be improved significantly using the family-centred interventions that were a distinctive feature of the programmes studied