Psychosocial problems in families of disabled children

Psychosocial problems faced by parents and other family members were studied in 50 families with a physically disabled child (PD group), 50 with a mentally retarded child (MR group) and 50 with a healthy child (control group). A semi-structured questionnaire assisted interview and standardized scales were used to measure social burden, marital adjustment and maternal neuroticism. Families with disabled children perceived greater financial stress, frequent disruption of family routine and leisure, poor social interaction, and ill effects on their physical and mental health as compared to families of control children. The overall social burden scores were significantly higher in both the groups with disabled children as compared to controls (mean scores PD 17.8, MR 14.6, C 0.72, p less than .001), and showed a significant inverse correlation with the socio-economic and educational status of parents. The neuroticism scores were also significantly higher (PD 23.7, MR 19.0, C 9.6, p less than .01), and the marital adjustment scores lower (PD 75, MR 79, C 86, p less than .01) in families with disabled children. Appropriate management of these problems should be part of rehabilitation programmes.