2019 Volume 29 Issue 1 Pages 135-154
The mental condition of mothers is associated with the quality of children's upbringing and daily life. This research aimed to explore qualitatively the possible relevance of mothers' psychological well-being to parenting difficulties of children with developmental disabilities and relationship with family members. In total, 25 mothers of children with developmental disabilities/suspected developmental disabilities were interviewed, and the interviews were conducted according to a semi-structured interview guide designed to grasp parenting difficulties in daily life. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale（CES-D）was used in examining the depression level in these mothers. The qualitative data were analysed using the Framework method, whereas quantitative data（CES-D）were analysed using Statistical software（Easy R）. The main findings are as follows. The average CES-D score was 15.9（± 10.2）, out of the possible score range of 0 to 60; a score over 16 indicated the presence of depressed symptomatology. Based on their CES-D score, 14 mothers（56%）were categorized into the well-being group, and 11 mothers（44%）, the depressed group. This percentage indicated a higher incidence compared with the rate of depression in Japan of 3% to 7%, as reported by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2011. Almost all of the respondents, regardless of group, expressed thinking about their children's short- and long-term future as their utmost concern as a mother. Participants in the depressed group who were mothers of boys tended to concerned that their sons' sexual interest in girls would lead to them becoming sexual offenders. Consequently, the mothers' poor psychological condition could be attributed to relationships with their family and affect the quality of their parenting. Meanwhile, the well-being group was characterized by their ability to seek good stress relievers from daily parenting, whereas the depressed group experienced the difficulty of unrelieved, mounting stress. These results suggest that mothers' mental health could be influenced by concerns over their children's sexual behaviours and related issues, as well as by subjective stress.
