Background: Resilience is a dynamic process influenced by life circumstances. This study evaluated the association between resilience and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QoL) of mothers of children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS).
Method: This was a cross-sectional study including 31 mothers of children with CZS assisted in rehabilitation centers in Sergipe state, Northeast Brazil, an endemic area for Zika virus (ZIKV).
Results: Mothers' age ranged from 18 to 42 years and all of them had low income. There were high levels of anxiety (scores > 40) in 80.6% of mothers and 19.3% had moderate (scores 19-29) to severe (scores 30-63) depressive symptoms. We found a relationship between increased levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower levels of personal competence (p = 0.007) and acceptance of self and life (p = 0.003), respectively. We also found a positive relationship between social QoL and personal competence (p = 0.003).
Conclusion: This study showed that lower personal competence is significantly associated to psychological distress and poorer social QoL in mothers of children with CZS.
Keywords: Congenital Zika syndrome; Resilience; Zika virus.