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Background: This study aimed to compare mental health of mothers of children with spina bifida with mothers of able-bodied controls.
Methods: Eighty-one mothers of children with spina bifida aged 1-18 years completed the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI/SF). The controls were 69 mothers of children with acute, non-disabling illnesses. Each child's adaptive skills were assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors related to a high GHQ score (¡İ3) in all patients.
Results: Compared to the controls, mothers of children with spina bifida had lower educational levels and were more likely to be the main caregivers and not working. Nineteen (23.5%) of them had a high GHQ score compared to 5 (7.2%) of the controls. They also had significantly higher scores for total PSI/SF and the parent domain, difficult child (DC) and parent-child dysfunctional interaction subscales. Children with spina bifida had lower scores for the composite VABS and communication, socialization, daily living skills and motor sub-domain than the controls. Spina bifida (odds ratio [OR] 4.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-14.23), higher DC scores (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.00-1.16), and higher life stress scores (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.01-1.71) were associated with a high GHQ score.
Conclusion: Spina bifida, recent stressful life change events and maternal perception of a child as 'difficult' are associated with poor maternal psychological health.
Key words: life change events; mental health; parent-child relations; spina bifida
World J Pediatr 2011;7(1):54-59
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