2001 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 115-122
With an increasing number of nuclear families and decreased birth rates, providing social support to mothers has become an important issue. The literature in the West has pointed out that depression in mothers adversely influences the mother-child relationship so much so as to interfere the growth and development of the child. As a result m the West research has been conducted in an effort to identify the influencing factors that appear to be related to the child's health. In Japan, however, a very few studies have been undertaken to examine the relationship between the mother's mental health and its effect on the child. Therefore, a study was conducted to elucidate the nature of the interaction between the mother's depression and its associated factors. The study was conducted at 3 different sites a parenting class where 33 first-time mothers who attended in city U, a check-up clinic where 57 mothers visited with their 3-months in city K, and 49 mothers whose children attended a nursery school in city K, a total of 139 mothers. The following instruments were administered on the mothers Zung's Depression Scale, the Health Practice Scale, the Child-Rearing Consciousness Scale, the Child-Rearing Worries Scale, the Social Support Scale, and the Marriage Satisfaction Scale, together with a questionnaire to ask about the subjects' and the family characteristics. χ2 square and ANOVA were used to compare the depression scores among the 3 groups of mothers. Pearson's r was used to examine the relationship between the mothers' depression and its related factors. Results : 1. The average score of depression for the first-time mothers was 39.9, that of the mothers with infants was 39.0, and that of the mothers with nursery school children was 39.0. The degree of depression was divided into mild (40-47) and moderate (48-55) or severe (56 or over) based on Zung's Depression Scale. In the first-time mothers, those who had mild depression was 42.2% and those who had moderate or severe depression was 9.1%. Likewise, in the mothers who had infants, mild depression was 31.6% and moderate or severe depression was 14.0%. In the mother who had nursery school children, mild depression occupied 27.7% and moderate or severe depression was 8.5%. There were no statistically significant differences observed among the 3 groups of mothers. Interestingly enough, the results from the mothers' depression scores with infants corroborated the scores obtained from nursing students or women in the community. 2. Next, associated factors were examined in each group of mothers. For the first-time mothers, associated factors with their depression were life-style and marital relationships. As to those mothers with their 3-months, all factors from the instruments used in the study were related to their depression. As far as those mothers with their nursery school children were concerned, marital relationships and the extent of and the nature of social support were related to their depression. From the above, the authors concluded that in order to minimize mother's depression, providing social support to them is crucial for mothers to care for their children in an effective way. Of all supports, that from the family, from the husband in particular, is of paramount importance. The community health nurse is in a position to provide social support to mothers through the family so that mothers may carry out their child rearing responsibility in a successful manner.
