Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life and General Health of parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Authors

Abstract

Background: Since parents of children suffering from autism disorder have more psychiatric problems compared to parents of normal children or those with other developmental disorders, the present research aimed to study anxiety, depression, general health and quality of life among parents of children with autism disorders in comparison to the control group. 
 
Methods: This descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study was performed on parents of autism children visiting the pediatric psychologist at Besat psychiatric clinic and one of the rehabilitation centers in Kerman, Iran. The autism diagnosis was confirmed by a child and adolescent psychiatrist and based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. The control group was selected from parents of children over two years with somatic problems. 66 people were selected in each of the control and case groups and in each group there was 33 men and 33 women. All participants were asked to fill out Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety questionnaires as well as general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREIF) questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using t-test.
 
Results: Mean scores of depression, anxiety, and quality of life were significantly different between the case and control groups (P<0.001). However, in terms of general health, mean scores of the two groups showed no statistically significant difference. 
 
Conclusion: Parents of children suffering from autism spectrum disorders are more susceptible to anxiety and depression and have lower quality of life.

Keywords


1. Reichow B, Kogan C, Barbui C, Barbui C, Smith I, Yasamy MT, et al. Parent skills training for parents of children or adults with developmental disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open. 2014; 4(8):1-5. 2. Allik H, Larsson JO, Smedje H. Health-related quality of life in parents of school-age children with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2006;4:1. 3. Estes A, Munson J, Dawson G, Koehler E, Zhou XH, Abbott R. Parenting stress and psychological functioning among mothers of preschool children with autism and developmental delay. Autism. 2009;13(4):375-87. 4. Eapen V, Črnčec R, Walter A, Tay KP. Conceptualisation and development of a quality of life measure for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res Treat. 2014;2014:160783. 5. Mugno D, Ruta L, D’Arrigo VG, Mazzone L. Impairment of quality of life in parents of children and adolescents with pervasive developmental disorder. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2007; 5: 22. 6. Estes A, Olson E, Sullivan K, Greenson J, Winter J, Dawson G, et al. Parenting-related stress and psychological distress in mothers of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders. Brain Dev. 2013;35(2):133-8. 7. Smith LE, Greenberg JS, Mailick MR. The family context of autism spectrum disorders: influence on the behavioral phenotype and quality of life. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2014;23(1):143-55. 8. Saberi J, Bahramipour M, Ghmarane A, Yarmohamadian A. The effectiveness of group positive parenting program on parental stress of mothers of children with autism disorder. Knowledge & Research in Applied Psychology. 2014; 15(2): 69-77. Persian 9. Berjs M, Hakim Javadi M, Taher M, Gholamali Lavasani M, Hosseine Khanzadeh AA. A comparison of the amount of worry, hope and meaning of life in the mothers of deaf children, children with autism, and children with learning disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities. 2013; 3(1): 148-55. Persian 10. Rabiee A, Shahrivar Z. A pilot study on efficacy of group educational training on knowledge level, stress, anxiety and depression in parents of children with autistic disorder. Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences. 2010; 7(1):1-8. Persian 11. Salmani B, Hasani J, Mohammad-Khani S, Karami GR. The efficacy of metacognitive therapy on metacognitive beliefs, metaworry and the signs and symptoms of patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Feyz. 2015; 18(5):428-39. Persian 12. Rush AJ, American Psychiatric Association. Handbook of Psychiatric Measures. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. 13. Rashedi E, Sohrabi F, Shams J. A study of the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy in relapse prevention of bipolar disorder. Journal of Clinical Phychology & Personality. 2011; 2(5):49-64. 14. The WHOQOL Group. Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med. 1998;28(3):551-8. 15. Skevington SM, Lotfy M, O'Connell KA; WHOQOL Group. The World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL group. Qual Life Res. 2004;13(2):299-310. 16. Kousha M, Attar HA, Shoar Z. Anxiety, depression, and quality of life in Iranian mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. J Child Health Care. 2016;20(3):405-14. 17. Bumin G, Gunal A, Tukel S. Anxiety, depression and quality of life in mothers of disabled children. SDÜ Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi. 2008;(15):6-11. 18. Yektakhah S, Gorji R, Allameh M. General health and quality of life of mothers with autism child. Journal of Exceptional Education 2014;1(123):13-9. Persian