Title:The Quality of Life in Mothers of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Comparative Study in Tehran, Iran
VOLUME: 16
Author(s):Samileh Noorbakhsh*, Mohammad Vafaee-Shahi, Mehrnoosh Purfallah and Elham Shirazi
Affiliation:Pediatric Infectious Diseases,Iran University of Medical Science, Pediatric growth and development research center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Rasool Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Mental Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences
Keywords:Quality of life, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mothers, children
Abstract:Background&Aim: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common mental health disorder among young children which affected the mothers’life styles The aim of the present study was to consider the quality of life in Iranian mothers with ADHD children.
Objective: In this comparative study we compared the quality of life between mothers with of ADHD children and mothers of normal children.
Methods: In this descriptive study (2018-2019), total 75 mothers with ADHD children and 75 mothers with normal children, who were referred to refferal educational hospital (Rasoul Hospital; Tehran, Iran) were evaluated. ADHD criteria was assessed by means of SNAP-IV questionnaire, while quality of life was evaluated by SF-36 questionnaire. All data were analyzed by SPSS software. The environmental; mental, social physical, health and quality of life compared between 2 groups.
Results: The economic situation of mothers with normal children was average (73.3%) to good (16%), while in mothers with ADHD children the economic situation was average (45.3%) to poor (37.3%). Mothers' employment in normal children group was 41.3%, but it was 14.6% in mothers with ADHD children. A significant difference was reported between two groups in the mean of environmental health score (p <0.05), social relationships (p<0.05), mental health (p <0.05), physical health (p <0.01) and quality of life (p <0.01). The mean score of environmental health, social relationships, mental health, physical health and quality of life in ADHD mothers was significantly lower than mothers with normal children.
Conclusion: The difficulties in management of ADHD children negatively affects the quality of mothers’life styles. Therefore, preventive, educational and therapeutic interventions are recommended to improve the mental health and the quality of life of mothers.
