A Comparative Study of Anhedonia among Parents of Children with and without Mental Retardation

• Main Authors: Sayed Hossein Siadatian, Amir gomrani, Mahmod Jalali, zahra Kholghi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Zanjan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services 2013-09-01
• Series: Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal
• Subjects: anhedonias; child; mentally disabled; parent; iran
• Online Access: http://zums.ac.ir/nmcjournal/article-1-86-en.html

Background and Objectives: Regarding the importance of pleasure in people`s psychological well-being and the quality of parents` care-taking behaviors, the present study compared the anhedonia among parents of children with or without mental retardation. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 52 parents were recruited to the study (27 parents of mentally-retarded children and 25 parents of healthy children) using the random-sampling method. Data were gathered using a questionnaire containing demographic characteristics and the Snaith–Hamilton`s Anhedonia items based on four factors and the 5-scale Likert. High score showed high capacity of pleasure. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed using the Cronbachchr('39')s Alpha (0.86). Data were analyzed using the logistic regression, t-test, and descriptive statistics. Results: The results showed that parents of mentally-retarded children had lower scores in all factors of the anhedonia in compare with the parents of healthy children (p<0/001). Conclusion: Parents with mentally-retarded children experienced anhedonia. It seems necessary to codify pedagogical patterns and to increase social supports for parents