Social capital and mental health among mothers in Vietnam who have children with disabilities

BACKGROUND: Having a child with a disability is a heavy burden for mothers, especially in developing countries, where there is little available financial or other government support. Having a child with a disability is also linked to mental health problems and poor quality of life. Communities rich in social capital and individuals who have high levels of personal social capital generally enjoy day-to-day and long-term health and social benefits but this has not been investigated in Vietnam among mothers of children with disabilities. This study aims to investigate these mothers’ distress in terms of their social capital. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on an interviewer-assisted survey included 172 mothers of children with moderate/severe disabilities in two provinces of Vietnam (one in the North and one in central Vietnam), using a newly translated and modified version of the Australian community participation questionnaire, several measures of personal social cohesion, and Kessler's 10-item measure of general psychological distress. Hierarchical linear regression modelling was used to explore the relationships among socio-demographic factors, multiple components of structural and cognitive social capita, and mothers’ distress controlling for a wide range of socio-demographic characteristics, the nature of the child's disability, and mothers’ personality (extroversion). RESULTS: Mothers in this study were highly and multiply disadvantaged, and they had very high levels of distress and low levels of community participation. Furthermore, most forms of participation were associated with greater, not less, distress. Socio-demographic characteristics, child's disability, and mothers’ personality did little to explain variance in mothers’ distress, but types and amounts of participation were important predictors. The final regression model explained 29% of variance in distress, with major contributions made by living in a mountainous area, having a ‘reserved’ personality, and frequency and types of participation. CONCLUSION: Vietnamese mothers whose children have disabilities are extremely marginalised and distressed. They have only modest social capital, but the little they have tends to be related to better mental health. Being from the mountains; being ‘reserved’; spending time with friends, neighbours, and in educational activities; and trusting others are related to better mental health among these women. However, several types of participation are associated with worse mental health. Such activities should be avoided in any interventions designed to increase social capital as a mental health promotion strategy.