Maternal mental health in families of children with spina bifida.

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 (≥ 3) 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.