Abstract

Objectives: In this project, the mental health status of mothers with children afflicted with psy-chiatric disorders was compared with that of the mothers of children without psychological comp- laints.

Method: 57 mothers of children afflicted with psychiatric disorders and 56 mothers of children without psychological  complaints were selected as the subjects of the study via available sampling. The subjects from  the two groups were matched in terms of some demographic variables. To collect data the 28-question version of General Health Questionnaire was  used. Data were analyzed via multivariate analysis of variance.

Findings: The mean scores of mothers of children with psychiatric disorders were higher than those of the mothers of children with no psychological complaints in the subscales of somatic synd- rome, anxiety syndrome, social functioning, and depressive syndrome the difference was more con- siderable in anxiety syndrome.

Results: The mothers of children afflicted with psychiatric disorders experience more depression and anxiety, lower social functioning and physical health than mothers of children with no psy-chological complaints.