Comparing Quality of Life and Marital Satisfaction in Mothers of Mentally Retarded and Normal Children in Iran: A systematic review

Introduction: Intellectual disabilities can not only affect children, but they also have impactson family members. The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of life and maritalsatisfaction in mothers of mentally retarded and normal children in Iran using a systematicreview method.Objective: The purpose of this review study was to investigate articles on quality of life andmarital satisfaction in mothers of children with mental retardation and those of normalchildren in Iran.Methodology: To this end; articles indexed in Directory of Open Access Journals Magiran,Google Scholar, PubMed, Library, Information, Irandoc, Scopus, SID and Web of Sciencewere searched.Results: The range of physical and behavioral problems in children with intellectualdisabilities, quality of life, and marital satisfaction were found to affect mentally retardedchildren and their family members especially mothers. Mental and emotional stress inmothers resulting from presence of such children, allocation of more time to provide care forthese children, high financial pressures, limited family and social relationships, maternalanxiety caused by behavioral problems in such children, maternal sleep disorders, and poorself-efficacy were considered among factors that could directly or indirectly influence qualityof life in mothers with mentally retarded children. Slow learning in such children, anxietyabout their future, fears concerning probability of birth of another mentally retarded child,unwillingness to have sexual relationships, use of ineffective problem-solving methods bymothers, severity of disabilities, lack of supportive spouse as well as social support, negativeparental approaches towards disabilities, along with high parental engagement and theirinappropriate problem-solving strategies were also reported as the most significant factorsaffecting marital satisfaction in mothers of children with intellectual disabilities.Conclusion: Counseling and training sessions for mothers about parenting styles, stresscopingskills, attitude reform, avoiding extreme support for mothers’ problems, individualand parenting counseling on problem-solving issues and strategies to deal with stressful lifeissues, government funding, as well as support from different organizations were taken intoaccount as the most important and essential ways to improve quality of life and maritalsatisfaction in mothers with mentally retarded children.

Keywords:

Mentally Retarded , Intellectual disabilities , Quality of Life , Marital Satisfaction