RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERNAL DEPRESSION AND CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AMONG ATTENDEES AT A SPECIALIST MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY IN ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Background: Children with recognized, diagnosable mental disorders are in addition prone to emotional and behavioral disorders. Among these children, a ‘dysregulation phenotype’ maybe an indicator of overall psychopathology, symptom severity and functional impairment. These children are almost invariably accompanied by caregivers (usually mothers) who may also have mental health problems, notable depression. The relationship between child and maternal psychopathology and functioning has however not been extensively researched in low and middle-income countries. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the relationship (if any) between maternal depression and child psychopathology among attendees at a specialist child and adolescent mental health facility. Methods: Mothers [n=100] of children receiving care at the Child and Adolescent clinic of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta Nigeria took part in the study. To each consenting mother was administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form (SF12), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The sociodemographic and clinical details of the child were obtained from the case records, and each child was also rated on the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Data analysis was done with SPSS version 16. Results: The mean ages of the mothers and children were 40.4 years (SD 4.7) and 11.6 years (SD 4.1), respectively. The majority of the mothers were married (85%), Yoruba (91%) and employed (95%). Among the children, 63% had a main diagnosis of seizure disorder, while 40% had a comorbid diagnosis. Among the mothers, 23% had a major depressive disorder. On the SF12, 42% and 26% of the mothers scored below the cut-off point for the Physical and Mental component respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between scores on the PHQ and the SF12 Physical (r=0.700, p<0.001) and Mental (r=0.752, p<0.001) components respectively. A quarter (25%) of the children had abnormal total SDQ scores. Mothers whose children had comorbid neuropsychiatric illnesses had poorer mental functioning (p=0.025). Mothers’ PHQ scores correlated with SDQ scores in all domains, while maternal SF12 scores correlated with the child’s conduct problem scores. Finally, child CGAS scores positively correlated with SDQ scores in all domains. Conclusion: The study showed notable rates of depressive illness and functional impairment among mothers of children with neuropsychiatric disorders. Marked rates of emotional and behavioral disorders were also found among the children. Associations were found between maternal psychopathology and impairment and child psychopathology and functioning. Recommendations following from the study are that mothers of children with neuropsychiatric disorders should be routinely screened for depressive illness and functional impairment and an integrative approach to maternal and child mental health care should be adopted.