Psychological Health Status in Adults with Cerebral Palsy

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychological health status in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and to find out affecting factors on psychological health status. METHOD: Eighty-six adults with CP and 146 age matched controls participated in this study. Psychological health status of all participants was evaluated by the interview and questionnaire including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI) and Affect Balance Scale (ABS). RESULT: Depressive symptom on BDI was common in adults with CP. Study group showed significantly higher scores in BSI and lower scores in ABS compared with the control group (p<0.05). Employment, severity of disability and health perception were significantly related to the psychological health status in adults with CP (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that psychological problems were greater in adults with CP, compared with the controls. Psychological health status in adults with CP was related to employment, severity of disability and health perception. Therefore, active medical and social interventions for providing employment, minimizing disability and improving health perception will be helpful for enhancing their psychological health.