Background: Parents of children with intellectual disabilities may develop depressive
symptoms and are prone to stigmatization due to stressful challenges encountered when
providing care for their children.
Objectives: The research aimed at establishing the prevalence of depressive symptoms and
stigmatization among parents of children with intellectual disabilities.
Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. A sample of 121 parents in four
public primary special schools in Nairobi were recruited .Data was collected by use of Three
(3) questionnaires. Researcher designed -Socio-demographic questionnaire was used to
obtain socio demographic information. BDI- II was used to screen depressive symptoms
while DISC-12 was used to determine stigmatization among parents of children with
intellectual disabilities.
Results : Most of the parents were female(77.8%) married( 69.9%), had post-secondary level
of education ( 61.1%) employed ( 78.5%) with an income over Ksh 10,000/-( 68.8%). 41.3 %
of parents met the criterion for being at risk of depression, Stigma and discrimination was
found to be significantly related to parent‟s depressive symptoms independently of other
variables.
Conclusion: Results suggest that parents of children with intellectual disabilities are likely to
be at risk for depression and to be highly stigmatized. Interventions could be developed that
have a focus on the health or well- being of parents. Reduction of society stigma could also
help promote and shun stigma likely to yield psychological distress to parents.