Relationship between maternal depression and depressive symptoms and anxiety in children with special learning disorders mediated by parental stress

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mothers' depression and depressive symptoms and anxiety in children with special learning disorders due to parental stress.

 This study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of correlation. The child had learning disabilities who referred to the Learning Disabilities Centers in shiraz from October to December 2016. The sample consisted of 270 mothers of students with special learning disabilities who were selected by convenience sampling. Research data were collected using the short form of the Parental Stress Scale, the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression and the Beck Depression Scale.

After data collection, they were analyzed using Spss-26 and Amos-24 software and Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equations. The assumed model had the necessary fit in the research community. The results showed that maternal depression explained 28% of the variance of parental stress. In the second place, exogenous variables explained 36% of the variance of anxiety and depression in children by adding the mediating variable of parental stress.

According to the approved structural model, a psychological pathology can be understood from the psychological vulnerability of children due to parental depression and stress, and by performing interventions based on multiple dimensions, psychological injuries can be prevented.