Children of parents with mental health concerns are at-risk for social-emotional problems. In this study, we assessed whether children with a mild intellectual disability and parents with mental health concerns are particularly at-risk.
Method:
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) reports of children with a mild intellectual disability (N = 55) and their parents with mental health concerns (N = 45) were compared to two comparison groups. The first group included children with average intelligence (N = 13) and their parents with mental health concerns (N = 56), the second group included children with mild intellectual disability (N = 44) and their parents (N = 36).
Results:
Children with a mild intellectual disability and a parent with mental health concerns show higher total SDQ problem scores and more internalizing and externalizing problems as compared to children in the two other groups.
Discussion:
Children having mild intellectual disability and parents with mental health concerns are particularly at risk for developing social-emotional problems.
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