Correlation between Child Behavior and Depression in Mother with Autism Spectrum Disorders Child

[摘要] Background: The behavioural characteristicsof an autistic child can lead to challengingrelationships with the mother. For motherswho serve as the key person in the care of theirchildren with ASD, maintaining good mentalhealth, which may be directly related to thegrowth and development of their children, is animportant issue for professionals engaged inparenting support. The aim of this study was todetermine the interaction between thebehavioural problems of children with ASD(from toddlers to adolescents) and theirmothers’ depression.Subjects and Method: This was a crosssectional study carried out in YamaguchiPrefecture, Japan. The recruitment of subjectswas through a paediatric out-patient unit.Eighty-six mothers with ASD participated inthis observational study. The Center forEpidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D)scale was used as a measure of depression inmothers, and the Child Behaviour Checklist(CBCL) was used as an assessment of thechildren’s behavioral characteristics. Theprevalence of depression among mothers ofchildren with ASD was estimated and relatedfactors were also examined.Results: There were 66 boys (76.7%), 12 girls(14.0%) and 8 (9.3%) non-responders.Comparing the pre- adolescent and adolescentgroups, there were significant differences in theages of mothers and children (P <0.001). Inthis study, the prevalence rate of depression inmothers of children with ASD was 47.7% (95%CI= 36.8 to 58.7), and the prevalence rate ofdepression in mothers of adolescent childrengroup was 48.6% (95% CI= 31.4 to 6.0). Thepredictive factors of maternal depression wereothers’ problems (toileting problems, andmasturbation) in CBCL and children’s agegroup.Conclusion: These children’s behaviouralcharacteristics were recognised as seriousproblems by their mothers, which in turn cannegatively affect their mental health,particularly the depression of mothers in theadolescent group was probably due to concernsabout their children’s unsocial behaviour.

[学科分类] 食品科学和技术

[关键词] Mental health;behaviouralproblems;pre-adolescent;adolescent