Effects of Grandparents' Education Program for Children with Developmental Disabilities on Grandparents' Life Satisfaction and Self-efficacy

Objective : The purpose o f this study i s to apply g randparents' education p rog ram for children with developmental disabilities to grandparents from the perspective of occupational therapy, and to analyze the effect of this program on grandparents' life satisfaction and parenting efficacy. Through this, it is intended to increase the understanding of grandparents' participation in parenting, improve the quality of life of the elderly, and promote healthy interactions between generations. Methods : The study was conducted at the A Development Center in Gyeonggi-do from January 2025 to March 2025, and involved 20 g randparents aged 60 or o lder who were diagnosed with developmental disabilities by doctors and raised children receiving developmental voucher services. The intervention is a program that performs a total of six sessions twice a week for 40 minutes a day, and 20 grandparents conducted the intervention program through non-face-to-face Zoom. Before and after the intervention program, the Life Satisfaction Index B of grandparents and the Parenting Efficacy Scale (Grandparent Parental Knowledge Questionnaire-for grandparents) were used. Results : Before and after the intervention program, the change in life satisfaction of grandparents increased from 29.70±4.62 to 65.75±5.40, and the change in parenting efficacy increased from 18.75±4.24 to 33.75±4.05, showing statistically significant improvement in all areas after the intervention (p<.05). Conclusion : There were significant improvement in grandparents' life satisfaction and parenting efficacy in the grandparents' education program for raising children with developmental disabilities. Through this study, practical customized educational programs for grandparents raising children with developmental disabilities can be used as basic data for building a family-centered occupational therapy model. In addition, it is expected to play a new role for the elderly in the era of super-aging and low birthrates.