Mental Health and Resilience Among Mothers of Children with ADHD and Mothers of Normal Children: A Casual-Comparative Study

Abstract

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) tend to me one of the most debilitating and prevalent behavioral disorders among children. Unfortunately, adverse outcomes of this disorder are not solely limited to children; it detrimentally affects the family and most of all mothers as main caregivers. In current study, we aimed to compare mental health and Resilience among mothers of children with ADHD and mothers of Normal children. This study was casual-comparative study. Statistical society consisted of all mothers of children in all primary school in Sari (Mazandaran Province, Iran) during 2016-2017. One hundred fifty two mothers of children with ADHD and mothers with normal children were chosen via Cluster Random Sampling in two stages. Data were obtained via Connors Parents Questionnaire, SCL-90-R and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Finally, data were analyzed via SPSS-17. Results showed that there is a meaningful difference between mental health of mothers with ADHD children and mothers with normal children. Furthermore, level of complaints, aggression, paranoid thoughts, and depression was higher among mother of ADHD children compared to children of mothers with normal children. Finally, it was concluded that there is a strong casual nexus between resilience and mental health of mothers of ADHD children. Results of current study showed that mothers of ADHD children, maintained lower mental health, compared to mothers of normal children. Hardships of raising ADHD child are so devastating that it detrimentally would tamper with mental health of their caregivers and more specifically their mothers. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between resilience and mental health of mothers in both group; in this sense, higher resilience was correlated with higher level of mental health. Hence, it appears plausible to conducting preventive intervention would amplify resilience of mothers and indirectly in with positively influence their mental health status.