Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the mental health of caregivers of special children in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. The sample of 100 caregivers (50 special and 50 normal) was recruited. Mental Health Inventory was used to assess parents’ mental health, and demographic information was collected using demographic sheet. The results of the study showed that caregivers of special children reported a lower level of mental health ( t = 2.25, p = .02), psychological well-being ( t = 2.89, p = .00), general positive affect ( t = 2.52, p = .01), emotional ties ( t = 2.54, p = .01), and life satisfaction ( t = 2.54, p = .01) and higher level of depression ( t = 1.96, p = .05) and loss of emotional/behavioral control ( t = 2.28, p = .02) as compared with caregivers of normal children. However, insignificant differences were found in psychological distress ( t = 1.64, p = .10) and anxiety ( t = .59, p = .55) between both groups. Caregivers’ gender was found as a significant risk factor for their mental health. Likewise, in other areas, caregivers of special children in GB were also vulnerable to mental health problems, particularly females, so that it is essential to address their mental health problems. The results of the study revealed significant and valuable recommendations for mental health professionals.
Highlights
Being a parent of a child with special care needs may emasculate the long-term health of parents as indicated by research findings
The effect size for mental health (d = 0.45), emotional ties (d = 0.43), life satisfaction (d = 0.43), depression (d = 0.39), and loss of emotional/behavioral control (d = 0.45) was small, while it was medium for psychological well-being (d = 0.57) and general positive affects (d = 0.50)
The effect size was large for mental health index (d = 1.14), psychological distress (d = 1.23), anxiety (d = .90), and loss of emotional/behavioral control (d = 1.34), while it was medium for psychological well-being (d = .72), general positive affect (d = .66), and depression (d = .84)
Summary
Being a parent of a child with special care needs may emasculate the long-term health of parents as indicated by research findings. Parents of a child with special care needs had poor mental health and greater depressive symptoms as compared with parents of typically developing children (Smith & Grzywacz, 2014). In Pakistan, there is a significant delay in detection of intellectual disabilities, especially in rural settings. This missed opportunity for rehabilitation during early developmental years results in significant distress for caregivers (Mirza et al, 2009). Findings of the study conducted in Pakistani context reported that mothers of special children were facing multiple problems in different domains of life. Mothers’ lower education, low income, and nuclear family system were reported as risk factors (Iqbal et al, 2014)
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