Quality of Life of Parents having Children with Developmental Disabilities.

ABSTRACT

Background: There are known limitations in functioning of children with developmental disabilities which result in requirements for long term care far exceeding the usual needs of children as they develop, or the expectations of their families as a parent. Thus, while caregiving is a normal part of being a parent, providing the high level of care required by a child with long term functional limitations can become burdensome and may impact both physical and psychological health of caregivers. Researches have hardly investigated the Quality of Life (QoL) in family caregivers of children with developmental disorders as compared to normal healthy children. Objectives: This study investigated QoL in family caregivers of children with Mental Retardation (MR) and autism as compared to a control group (CG). Methods: The sample consisted of 240 parents (40mothers and 40 fathers in each of the three groups) of 120 children having MR, autism and normal healthy children. Diagnostic assessments in children were carried out using Seguine Form Board test, Vineland Social Maturity scale, Childhood Autism rating scale. QOL of parents was assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Results: Analysis using one way analysis of variance and post hoc analysis revealed that compared with parents of healthy children, parents in the MR and autism group reported impairment in all the four domains of QoL. Little differences were observed between MR and autism groups. Such impairments were found both for fathers and mothers. Conclusion: Compared with parents of healthy children, parents in the MR and autism group reported impairment in all the four domains of QoL. Little differences were observed between MR and autism groups. Such impairments were found both for fathers and mothers. Thus, parents of children with MR and autism seem to display a higher burden and impaired QoL. These finding must be taken into account in policy making to provide better and more specific supports and interventions for this group of diseases. Psycho-social intervention programmes for family caregivers of children with developmental disorders should incorporate building upon specific strategies to enhance their quality of life.