Professional Caregiver's View on Mental Health in Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Nationwide Study of Institutions and Consultation Centers in Japan

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities and/or physical disabilities are supposed to have an increased risk for parenting stress and psychological distress. We as professional caregivers sometimes experience difficulties in keeping good relations or communicating with the parents. Professional workers in 460 institutions and consultation centers throughout Japan answered a questionnaire on their clinical experiences. About 90% of the facilities experienced “distressed parents,” and the parents' condition such as mental health seemed to influence this. Signs of a depressive state were the most common psychiatric disturbances detected, and it was notable in the pervasive developmental disorder group. More welfare support, presence of support groups, support from other family members, and medical treatment of the parents' problems were considered to be helpful and thus requested to be improved. Training more professionals who can properly deal with the parents' mental health needs is an urgent matter that must be tackled. 1. Introduction Many previous studies have revealed that parents, especially mothers, of children with developmental disabilities such as intellectual disabilities (IDs), developmental delay, and physical and sensory handicaps are more likely to show signs of psychological distress or depressive symptoms and to exhibit lower well-being than parents of typically developing children [1–5]. It is generally accepted that caring for a child who has a developmental disability may involve significant and prolonged periods of time and energy [6]. Since the majority of this increased daily care-giving burden for these children is carried by their parents, they are supposed to have an increased risk for high levels of stress, and thus some cases may be linked to depression [7, 8]. Recently, the mental health needs of adults with ID have also been taken up for discussion. Studies have revealed that psychiatric disorders are more prevalent in people with ID compared within the general population [9]. In fact, the burden of mental illness on health and productivity is tremendous [10]. Specialist psychiatric services for people with ID are available in some countries such as the UK and the USA; however, the provision of high-quality psychiatric services remains a major concern in many countries [11]. There have been few reports on mental health care from Asian countries including Japan [12]. Evidently, the current psychiatric services in Japan are not adequate to meet the complex mental health needs of people with ID appropriately,