Mothering and mother-child interactions in the unaffected siblings of autistic children

Investigation of the relationship between the sense of coherence and the level of depression in mothers of children with autism

INTRODUCTION

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder originating from early childhood. Although there are studies investigating the sense of coherence in caregivers of children with ASD, there is not a previous study in our country. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between the sense of coherence and depression levels in mothers of children with ASD.

METHOD

Seventy-five mothers of children followed up in rehabilitation centers with the diagnosis of ASD were included in this study. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Sense of Coherence Scale-13 (SOC-13) were administered to mothers. Participants were divided into two groups: a depressive group and a control group according to the BDI cut-off score. SOC-13 total score and sub-scores were compared between these groups.

RESULTS

According to the BDI cut-off score, 45 participants (60%) were included in the depressive group. Total SOC-13 score and sub-scores were found to be statistically significantly lower in the depressive group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

Our study is the first study in our country to examine the relationship between the sense of coherence and depression in mothers of children with ASD. The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between depression scores and sense of coherence. It is predicted that psychological interventions that will improve the sense of coherence of mothers with children with ASD may play an important role in the treatment of depression, thus leading to an increase in the quality of care provided by parents.