Attitudes of the mildly mentally retarded children's parents toward their children's handicap: Dammam – Saudi Arabia

The objectives of this case-control study was to identify the attitudes of parents of mentally retarded children towards the illness of their children. Sixty-nine parents ofrniltlly mentally retarded male children (MR group) and a similar number of matched parents of normal male children (Control Group) were interviewed using a questionnaire. The parents of the MR group had feelings of guilt and self-blame which was significantly higher in mothers than in fathers. Feeling of rejection and inferiority were reported by the parents with no significant difference between fathers and mothers. All of the rates, however, were found to be less than those reported /tom western societies. Failure of families to investigate causes of mental retardation was found in more than a quarter of all the study groups. Parents of the MR group asked for more services to be provided by the appropriate governmental agencies.