Comparing the General Health among Mothers of Students with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

The general health of parents that tolerate and adapt to life problems is very important. This study aimed at comparing the general health among mothers of students with neurodevelopmental disabilities in the city of Shiraz during 2014-2015.
This was a descriptive-comparative study. The statistical population consisted of mothers of elementary school student with neurodevelopmental disability in Shiraz. Through a purposive sampling method, 135 mothers were selected, of which 50 had children with learning disability, 38 with intellectual disability, and the remaining 47 with autism spectrum disorders. In order to assess the general health of mothers, the "General Health Questionnaire” was used. Construct validity of the scale was calculated using the “Internal Structure Studies”. Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was measured. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS 21.
The general health of mothers of students with learning disability (x̄ = 32.04) was significantly higher than both groups of mothers of students with intellectual disability (x̄ = 27.91) and autism spectrum disorder (x̄ = 30.64) (P General health problems of mothers of children with learning disability were more than both other groups of mothers. Development and implementation of preventive and interventional programs to enhance the general health of mothers of students with neurodevelopmental disability is suggested.