Depression in mothers and fathers of children with intellectual disability

J Intellect Disabil Res. 2001 Dec;45(Pt 6):535-43. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2788.2001.00372.x.

Abstract

Parental depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in 216 families with children with autism and/or intellectual disability (ID), and in 214 control families. Mothers with children with autism had higher depression scores (mean = 11.8) than mothers of children with ID without autism (mean = 9.2), who in turn, had higher depression scores than fathers of children with autism (mean = 6.2), fathers of children with ID without autism (mean = 5.0), and control mothers (mean = 5.0) and fathers (mean = 4.1). Forty-five per cent of mothers with children with ID without autism and 50% of mothers with children with autism had elevated depression scores (BDI > 9), compared to 15-21% in the other groups. Single mothers of children with disabilities were found to be more vulnerable to severe depression than mothers living with a partner.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Autistic Disorder*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Depression / diagnosis*
  • Depression / etiology
  • Fathers / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intellectual Disability*
  • Male
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sex Distribution
  • Single Parent / psychology
  • Stress, Psychological* / diagnosis
  • Sweden