A SURVEY ON PREVALANCE OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOM AND SEVERITY AMONG PARENTS OF MAILGNANT CHILDEREN

The objective of this research was to study prevalence and severity of depression among parents of children suffering from malignant diseases. This study has been preformed over a four-month period at Shafa hospital of Ahwaz Medical Sciences University on 66 parents (32 fathers and 34 mothers). Depression was diagnosed in accordance with DSM-IV criteria through clinical interview and MMPI test. For severity measurement Beck test was used. The results show that prevalence rate of depression in the target population was almost four times more than in the general population. The finding of this study demonstrated that the parents of children suffering from malignancy need specific psychiatric support and attention.