Contributions to Depression in Latina Mothers With and Without Children With Retardation: Implications for Caregiving.

The article presents a study which investigates the contributions to depression in Latino mothers with and without retarded children. It focuses on Latino mothers' well-being, and how this is affected by having a child with mental retardation. The variable of interest is depression, as depression in adults is one of the nation's major health problems, with significant consequences for children. Also, variables of interest were grouped into five conceptual domains: Demographics, acculturation, health, personal and coping resources, and family climate. Demographic indicators include mothers' age, education, employment status, and family income. Depression was elevated in both Latino samples relative to a normative group. Furthermore, Latino mothers who had children with mental retardation showed significantly higher levels of depressive symptomatology relative to controls. Depression was predicted by low family cohesion, poor health of the mother, absence of spouse or partner, less use of passive appraisal as a coping strategy, and presence of a child with mental retardation.