comparison between the mental health of mothers of children with autism and control group

objective: the aim of this study was to compare the mental health of mothers of children with autism and those of control group. methods: sample of this study consists of 32 mothers of children with autistic disorder and 29 mothers of children without autism referring to hospitals of ahvaz city using convenience sampling. all subjects were asked to complete demographic questionnaire and general healthquestionnaire (ghq). data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (manova). results: resultsindicated that significant differences exist in mental health (f=5.69, p=0.02) and anxiety/ insomnia (f=4.82, p=0.03), between mothers of children with autismand control group. there were not any other significant differences in the other subscales. conclusion: it is essential using some mental health improving interventions for mothers of children with autistic disorder. declaration of interest: none. citation: riahi f, izadi s. comparison between the mental health of mothers of children with autism and control group. iran j psychiatry behav sci 2012 6(2): 91-95