Personality disorders, depression and anxiety in mothers of children with ADHD and anxiety disorders in Iran

BACKGROUND/AIM: This study aims to assess and compare personality disorders and psychiatric disorders (depression and anxiety) in mothers of children with ADHD and anxiety disorders aged 2–16 years living in Iran. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were 168 mothers (100 with children having ADHD and 68 with children having anxiety disorders). The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Symptom Checklist-90–Revised (SCL-90-R) were used for assessing personality disorders, depression and anxiety in mothers. Collected data were analysed in SPSS software. RESULTS: Of 168 mothers, only 100 completed the questionnaires completely (68 having children with ADHD and 32 with anxious children). Of 100 mothers, 61 had personality disorders, where 21 had children with anxiety disorders and 40 had children with ADHD. The most common personality disorder was depressive personality disorder (n = 27) followed by compulsive personality disorder (n = 15). No antisocial, borderline and paranoid personality disorders were observed in mothers. Based on DASS-21, 72 mothers had depression, and 84 had anxiety. Based on the SCL-90-R, 86 had depression, and 81 had anxiety. We found no statistically significant difference between the two groups of mothers in terms of personality disorders, depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of depression, anxiety and personality disorders in mothers of children with anxiety disorders and ADHD in Iran is high, and there is no difference between them. It is recommended that psychiatric and psychological counseling be provided for these mothers.