Psychological well‐being among mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Little is known about the proportion of mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) who experience distress, particularly in terms of depressed and anxious moods. The present study aimed to address this issue by examining the level of maternal anxious and depressed moods. The associations between maternal psychological well-being and self-efficacy and perception of children's eating, sleeping and mobility were also examined. The sample comprised 78 mothers (mean age, 37 years; standard deviation, 7.91) of children with CP aged < 16 years of age. Data were collected by selfadministered questionnaires based on standard measures of anxious and depressed moods that were mailed to mothers. Results showed 29.8%, 26% and 11.7% of mothers were at low, moderate, and high risk of clinically anxious mood compared with population female norms of 23%, 13%, and 3%, respectively. A total of 22.1% and 19.5% of mothers were at low and moderate risk of clinically depressed mood compared with norms of 9% and 4%, respectively. Anxious and depressed moods were inversely associated with generalised self-efficacy (p = 0.001) and anxious mood was inversely associated with children's sleeping difficulties. In conclusion, levels of maternal psychological wellbeing are a cause for concern and warrant exploration of interventions that will reduce maternal distress, and increase self-efficacy.

Sorrow, coping and resiliency: parents of children with cerebral palsy share their experiences

“…The results of this study are consistent with research demonstrating enhanced parenting stress in parents of children with CP [4][5][6][7]. Further, this study suggests that the theoretical framework of chronic sorrow theory may be useful in understanding the experiences of parents of children with CP [8][9][10][11].…”

The effectiveness of the Training and Support Program for parents of children with disabilities: A randomized controlled trial

“…The HADS was designed to detect the presence and severity of relatively mild degrees of mood disorder in nonpsychiatric hospital outpatients and has been used in previous studies of parents (e.g., Ref. [40]). Scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety and greater depression.…”

Quality of life and mental health among parents of children with cerebral palsy: the influence of self‐efficacy and coping strategies

“…Self‐efficacy is one of the caregiver's personal resources that may be important for the quality of life of parents of children with CP (Florian & Findler , Barlow et al . , Ketelaar et al . ).…”