Patterns of mental health problems and well-being in children with disabilities in Sweden: A cross-sectional survey and cluster analysis

Children with disabilities have an increased risk of mental health problems. Patterns of mental health problems and well-being may vary. To identify patterns of mental health problems and well-being in children with disabilities in Sweden, and investigate the influence of parental background (migrat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2023-07, Vol.18 (7), p.e0288815-e0288815
Main Authors:	Täljedal, Torun, Granlund, Mats, Almqvist, Lena, Osman, Fatumo, Norén Selinus, Eva, Fängström, Karin
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Biology and Life Sciences Care and treatment Child Child & adolescent psychiatry child parent relation Children Children with disabilities Cluster Analysis Cognitive ability Consent Cross-Sectional Studies cross-sectional study Data collection Disabilities Disability disabled child Disabled Children Education Emotional behavior epidemiology Families & family life Health problems Health risks human Humans Hyperactivity Medicin/Teknik Medicine and Health Sciences Medicine/Technology Mental disorders Mental Health Parents Parents & parenting Participation People and Places Psychological aspects psychology questionnaire Questionnaires Ratings Social Sciences Surveys and Questionnaires Sweden
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Summary:	Children with disabilities have an increased risk of mental health problems. Patterns of mental health problems and well-being may vary. To identify patterns of mental health problems and well-being in children with disabilities in Sweden, and investigate the influence of parental background (migration, education), and child cognitive level. In this cross-sectional study, cluster analysis was used to analyse parents' ratings of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and prosocial behaviour on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in children with disabilities (n = 136). The influence of parental background (migration, education) and child cognitive level on cluster membership was explored through multinomial logistic regression. Five clusters of mental health patterns emerged. Three clusters had mean ratings near or past clinical cut-off for one each of the SDQ-subscales. One cluster had difficulties on all three subscales. Greater child cognitive difficulties increased the likelihood of low prosocial behaviour (OR 2.501, p < .001) and of difficulties on all three subscales (OR 2.155, p = .006). Parental background did not influence cluster membership. Children with disabilities display varying mental health patterns. Awareness of the complexity of mental health patterns among children with disabilities is important. Screening and support for emotional symptoms and prosocial behaviour deficits should be considered for children with conduct problems.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203