Perceived role restriction and depressive symptoms in mothers of children with chronic health conditions

This study examined role restriction in 365 inner-city mothers of 5- to 8-year-old children with chronic health conditions and tested whether it could account for a previously reported relationship between children's functional limitations and maternal psychological distress. Functional limitations in the children were related to maternal role restriction with sociodemographic factors controlled. Children's functional limitations also independently predicted maternal Depression subscale scores in a regression model. Adding role restriction to this model significantly increased explained variance in Depression scores, indicating that it also is directly related to maternal distress symptoms. However, adding role restriction only slightly reduced the impact of functional limitations in the model, suggesting that it plays a small role, if any, in explaining the relationship between the other two variables. Because perceived role restriction independently predicts maternal depressive symptoms and represents a potentially modifiable risk factor, it warrants attention as a useful target for intervention.