Bindu Meethale Veettil1, Sheeba Damodar2, Jayadevan Sreedharan3, Vimal Rohan K4, Jayasree Ananda Bhavan Kumaran5
Parents experience psychological trauma if they recognise that their children are having conduct disorder, which is unacceptable to the society and against the social norms. The intensity of depression in parents having children with conduct disorder is included in this study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Exploratory research was used in this study as the method of study. A sample was selected from parents having children with conduct disorder reported in various psychiatric settings in Kerala, India, and also from parents having normal children. Random sampling was used for selecting the sample. All the parents of children diagnosed with conduct disorder in the age group of 6 to 12 reported in the psychiatric settings on a random day is selected as sample. Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
Depression in parents affect their skills in caregiving, support to their children, nurturance and it will affect proper development of children physically and mentally. Similarly, conduct disorder in children will affect their parents mental and social functioning and their life functioning and the parents maybe suffering from depression. Mothers of children with conduct disorders are reported to have exhibit more depressed and they show very poor parenting skills and negative interactions with their children compared to normal mothers. Parents having children with conduct disorder did have higher intensity of depression compared to parents having normal children.
CONCLUSION
The study hopes to make contributions in identifying the intensity of depression in parents having children with conduct disorder and it’s serious and least recognised impact on their parents. The study will also help to find out the areas in which parents need intervention and to decide which type of therapy will be more helpful to the family as a whole. Identifying and understanding the relevant and feasible components of therapy can then facilitate more rigorous outcome studies in the area, which are imperative.
