Original Research Article
Year: 2020 | Month: October-December | Volume: 5 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 45-50
Comparison of Severity of Anxiety and Depression in Caregivers of Children with Cerebral Palsy and Its Relation to the Type of Cerebral Palsy
Tage Sepi1, Himanshu Mathur2, Ashutosh Sharma2, Jeena Krishnan3, Aditya Arvindrao Miskin4, Chaya Sundar Shetty5
1MPT, Neurology and Psychosomatic Disorder, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, India;
2Assistant Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, Jaipur National University, India;
3Physiotherapist, Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, India;
4Physiotherapist, Dr. Rajendra Patil Physio Care Centre, India;
5Physiotherapist, Aster Specialist Centre for Orthopaedics & Physiotherapy, Dubai;
Corresponding Author: Himanshu Mathur
ABSTRACT
Background &Objective: Children with cerebral palsy require long term special care both physically and mentally. Consequently, care giving for a child with CP is often associated with anxiety, stress and depression in caregivers due to continuous intensive assistance they need to give to these children for their safety and effective treatment and prognosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if the type of Cerebral Palsy affects the anxiety and depression level of caregivers of those children differently. In the current study cerebral palsy was classified into four type based on the structured involved in the brain i.e. Spastic, Ataxic, Athetoid and Hypotonic cerebral palsy.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted where the primary caregivers (mother and father) of the children (aged between 4-10 years) with cerebral palsy were invited to participate in the study. The caregivers were divided into four groups (20 subjects on each) according to the type of CP their children suffer from. The subject’s level of anxiety and depression were identified using Beck anxiety inventory and Beck depression inventory scale.
Result: The result showed that the level of anxiety and depression has significant relation with the type of cerebral palsy. Highest level of anxiety was found in caregivers of children with hypotonic cerebral palsy, followed by caregivers of children with Athetoid cerebral palsy, then spastic and then ataxic cerebral palsy. Whereas the level of depression was found to be more in caregivers of children with hypotonic cerebral palsy, followed by caregivers with athetoid, ataxic and then spastic cerebral palsy.
Conclusion: Psychological status of both father and mother should be considered by health professionals, so that target therapy for the cerebral palsy child can be conveniently accomplished.
Keywords: Cerebral palsy, anxiety and depression.