RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Children's emotional-behavioral problems will have a huge impact on their future. Such problems are more seen in the siblings of children with special needs. The present study aimed to compare emotional-behavioral problems in the healthy siblings of autistic children with the healthy siblings of children with Down syndrome in order to identify such children in Iran. MATERIALS & METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out in Tehran, Iran in 2016 on 174 healthy children aged between 3 and 9 yr old among whom 58 cases had autistic siblings, 58 cases had siblings with Down syndrome, and 58 cases had typically development siblings. The participants were selected using convenience sampling technique. All volunteer parents filled in SDQ Questionnaire. The study results were calculated using independent sample t-test, two-way ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc test by SPSS. RESULTS: The mean overall score of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was reported as 17.98±6.19 in the autism group, 11.01±6.56 in the Down syndrome group and 4.43±4.34 in the healthy group. There was a significant difference among autism, Down syndrome, and healthy groups. In the group of siblings with Down syndrome, the problems were significantly more in the age range of 3 to 7 yr old (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in the scores of males and females (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Siblings with autism or Down syndrome can have especial psychological effects on healthy children in families in the way that such effect will be more with autistic children. Therefore, formulating beneficial strategies for their parents is used to prevent emotional behavioral problems.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Given the importance of children's development and the role of psychological status of mothers in this regard, this study investigated the relationship of mothers' psychological status (stress, anxiety and depression) with the development of children aged 36-60 months. MATERIALS & METHODS: This descriptive study was performed on 1036 mothers and their children, aged 36 to 60 months, in different kindergartens in Tehran City, Iran, in 2014-2015. Participants were selected through multi-stage random sampling. The following instruments were used in this study: A demographic and obstetric specification questionnaire, children specification questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, Spiel Berger Test, Perceived stress questionnaire and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire to determine the status of the children's development. Data were analyzed using SPSS20 software, Mann-Whitney; independent t-test and logistic-Regression model were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of developmental delay in children aged 36-60 months was 16.2%. The independent t-test showed a relationship between maternal stress and developmental delay in children. The Mann-Whitney test revealed a significant relation between mothers' depression level and developmental delay in their children. There was a significant relation between trait anxiety and developmental delay in children. Moreover, a significant relation was found between maternal stress and developmental delay in fine motor skills. The logistic regression model showed a significant relationship of child gender, economic and social states with developmental delay. CONCLUSION: This study showed mothers' psychological status probably is an effective factor in developmental delay. The assessment of mothers' psychological status is suggested for early interventions.
