Mental health of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mental ill-health and its determinants in mothers caring for a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities across and beyond the caregiving trajectory: secondary data analysis and data linkage of administrative and health records in Scotland
IRAS ID
211008
Contact name
Deborah Kinnear
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
The proposed study will examine the mental health of mothers of a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities. For many, caregiving will be a lifelong commitment and can be an extremely positive and rewarding experience. However, it can also have a negative impact on the mental health of parent carers at different points in time. Small scale research suggests that mothers may be more likely than other carers to experience depression and anxiety. However, there is a dearth of robust research in this area. It is therefore important to investigate how common mental ill-health is in mothers across the caregiving trajectory (caring for a child, adult or older adult) with intellectual disabilities or after a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities has died, and additionally, to compare this with matched women who do not have this caring role. It is also important to identify possible reasons for mental ill-health (e.g. living circumstances, child’s health), so these can be addressed. Scotland’s Census 2011, provides a unique opportunity to identify the mental health of mothers’ caring for a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities. This is the only known whole population census in the world to provide information which can be extracted to identify mothers’ caring for a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities. Scotland’s Census 2011 will be linked to information from different sources (routinely collected health records) to better understand the mental health of mothers at different stages of caregiving, including after the death of a son or daughter with intellectual disabilities. The results from this novel study will not only add a significant contribution to this gap in the caregiving literature but could also improve existing services and the development of new strategies to address mental ill-health and support caregivers in their vital roles.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0441
Date of REC Opinion
18 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion