Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2007 , Vol 53 , Num 1

Anxiety and Depression Levels in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy

1 ,Akın İŞcan 2 ,Sait Akcan 3 ,Savaş Köksal 3 ,Metin Erçin 4 ,Leman Ege 4
1
2 Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Pediatri Nöroloji Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa
3 Karacan Özel Rehabilitasyon Merkezi, Şanlıurfa
4 Harran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Şanlıurfa

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the depression and anxiety levels in mothers of children with Cerebral Palsy and relation with the functional limitations in their children.
 

Materials and Methods: Participant mothers were divided into two groups. All mothers of disabled children were called patient group, and mothers of healthy children were called control group. Patient group consisted of mothers of 52 children with cerebral palsy. Control group consisted of 67 mothers having healthy children. Sociodemographic characteristics were gathered using a sociodemographic form. Pediatric Functional Independence Measurement (WeeFIM) and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was administered to all children, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to all mothers.
 

Results: BDI and STAI I-II scores of patient group were statistically higher than scores of controls (p<0.001). In addition, depression levels displayed negative correlation with functional independence measurement and positive correlation with GMFCS scores in the patient group. 
 

Conclusion: Our results indicated that there is a relation between functional disability levels in children and psychological distress in their mothers. We thought that mothers of handicapped children should be given a regular psychological support. 

Keywords : Cerebral palsy, anxiety, depressio