A Comparative Study on the Mental Health of the Parents of Trainable Mentally Retarded and Healthy 7 to I9 Year - Old Children

This article, based on a comparative study, deals with the question of mental health of the parents of mentally retarded children. In this study the mental health of the parents of the educable mentally retarded children were compared to that of the non- retarded children. The subjects sampled randomly consisted of 280 parents (mother and fathers equally), of whom 140 had educable mentally retarded children and 140 had non- retarded children in the primary schools of Abadan. The information needed, was obtained using a 90- question- scale questionnaire (SCL 90- R), the validity and reliability of which were compatible with that of the original scale. The research design a causal- comparative one. The results show a significant difference between the mental healths of the two groups of parents. Moreover; according to this research, the negative effects of having a mentally retarded child is more obvious in mothers than fathers.