The Perceived Family Support and Level of Depression among Primary Care Givers of Children with Developmental Disorders

A child with a developmental need may cause serious stress for the parents and can affect each member of the family, who experiences a great amount of psychological distress. A major goal in working with such family is to support the family and give psychological support to the parents. The current study aims at assessing the perceived family support and level of depression among primary care givers of children with developmental disorders. The conceptual frame work of the present study is based on Roys Adaptation Model. Non probability convenient sampling technique was used to select 100 samples. One hundred samples completed the self administered questionnaire which included sociodemographic profile, modified Family Support Scale and Becks Depression Inventory. The results revealed that 33 % of the subjects were having mild mood disturbance to borderline depression. It was seen that 11 % of the primary care givers had moderate depression to extreme depression. Most of the primary care givers ie 53 % perceived low family support and 34 % perceived moderate family support. Only few, ie 7 % perceived no family support and 6 % perceived high family support. The data subjected for statistical relationship between perceived family support and level of depression was found to be significant (r=-0.465**). It can be concluded that lower the perceived family support higher the level of depression among primary care givers of children with developmental disorders.