Prevalence of caregiver burden, depressive and anxiety symptoms in caregivers of children with psychiatric disorders in Durban, South Africa
South African Journal of Psychiatry
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Prevalence of caregiver burden, depressive and anxiety symptoms in caregivers of children with psychiatric disorders in Durban, South Africa | |
| Creator | Paruk, Saeeda Ramdhial, Mayuri | |
| Description | Background: There is increased caregiver burden, depressive and anxiety symptoms associated with the care of mentally ill children. This may be influenced by child or caregiver factors such as socio-demographic and clinical factors and has not been explored in the South African context.Aim: To describe the prevalence of depression, anxiety symptoms and caregiver burden in caregivers of children treated at psychiatric outpatient services at two public sector hospitals.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 121 adult primary caregivers of children aged 1–17 years with mental illness using a socio-demographic questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 Questionnaire (GAD-7), and the Child and Adolescent Impact Assessment (CAIA) to assess caregiver burden.Results: The caregivers were predominantly female (n = 96, 79.5%) and married (n = 72, 59.5%), with a mean age of¬34.99 years (SD 10.38), and 74% were mothers. Among the children, there was a predominance of boys with a 1:4 ratio of girls to boys. The most common diagnoses in the children were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 56, 59.6%) and autism spectrum disorder (n = 22, 23.4%). Fifty-four (44%) caregivers were depressed with a mean PHQ9 score of 5.75 (SD 5.98), and 65 (54 %) reported anxiety symptoms with a mean GAD7 score of 5.71 (SD 5.03). Mothers reported significantly higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.045) and experienced higher impact on feelings of personal well-being on the CAIA (p = 0.004) in comparison with fathers. Caregiver burden was predominantly reported in the domains of restrictions in activities (n = 40, 32.8%), feelings of personal well-being (n = 37, 30.7%) and economic impact (n = 21, 17.4%).The caregivers of children with ADHD reported higher anxiety levels (p = 0.023) than for autistic children. A diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder was associated with higher income impact (p = 0.004) and restrictions impact (p = 0.001) than for children with ADHD diagnosis in terms of caregiver burden.Conclusion: The high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms reported amongst caregivers suggests the need for improved mental health screening and psycho-social support programmes for caregivers, particularly mothers. Programmes should consider the impact of caregiving, particularly on mental health, income and social restrictions of caregivers. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2018-09-19 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v24i0.1314 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Psychiatry; Vol 24 (2018); 1 page 2078-6786 1608-9685 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1314/1168
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1314/1167
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1314/1169
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1314/1150
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