The stress of caring among parents of children with psychiatric disorders and mental retardation.

This paper focuses on the psychological problems faced by parents of children who have psychiatric disturbances. A prospective study of parents who bring their children to the Psychiatry department of the Mayo Hospital reveals that 44% of the parents had anxiety related problems and 24% had depression. It has been suggested that the children's disturbance may be a consequence of the parent's problems and that the parents of these children need further attention and care.