Anxiety, depression, and quality of life in mothers of children with intellectual disability

Background: Intellectual disability (ID) in children can trigger a range of psychological responses in parents. The present study was an attempt to investigate psychological conditions of mothers of children with ID and to determine whether these problems were more prominent in mothers of children with ID than mothers with healthy children. Aim and objectives were to investigate psychological impact (i.e. anxiety, depression, and quality of life [QOL]) on mothers of children with ID. Materials and methods comprised of two groups of subjects, i.e. mothers of sixty children with ID and mothers of sixty healthy children. The study was conducted at the Outpatient Department of Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Tezpur, Assam. Both groups were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II); State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and World Health Organization QOL-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Data was analysed by descriptive statistics, correlation, and t test. Result: The results of the study conclusively found out that the mothers of children with ID were having higher anxiety and depression than mothers with healthy children. The anxiety and depression had negative correlation with QOL of mothers of children with ID. Conclusion: This study shows that anxiety and depression affected QOL in mothers of children with ID.