The Psychological Distress Profile of Mothers and Adolescents Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Ardabil in 2014

Adolescence is one of the most sensitive periods in every one’s life in which the psychological disorders of mothers play a significant role in its emotional development state. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of mother’s psychological distress with depression, anxiety and stress in adolescents. In this descriptive study, 200 girls and boys studying in high schools of Ardabil in academic year of 2013-2014 and their mothers (n=200) were selected by multistage cluster random sampling, and the adolescents responded to Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42) and the mothers responded to Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and multiple linear regression analysis. Results showed that there is a positive significant correlation among the mother’s psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress) with their adolescents’ depression, anxiety and stress disorders (p<0.001), and the most correlation coefficient was referred to the relationship between mother anxiety and adolescent anxiety (r=0.46). Linear regression analysis results also showed that the model of predicting adolescents depression, anxiety and stress based on the mothers’ psychological distress is significant (p<0.001) and 16% of the variance of adolescents depression, 25% of their anxiety and 20% of their stress can be explained by mothers’ psychological distress. These results support of the relationship between mothers’ psychological distress and their adolescent’s depression, anxiety and stress. Thus, attention to mothers’ psychological conditions can be important in order to prevent the psychological disorders in adolescents.