Psychosocial Factors associated with Mental Retardation

 

Dr. Sapna

Associate Professor, Head of Department of Pediatric Nursing, RPEC, Sohana, Mohali, Punjab, India

 

ABSTRACT:

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION:

The psychological factors present in 715 suspected children were studied by Benjamin Goldberg and Paul Max under study “postnatal psychological causes of mental retardation”. Result shows that Social, cultural and educational deprivation accounted for 57 cases. Personality and emotional conflicts were primary etiological factors in 15 children. Functional childhood psychosis was found in 18. A group of 89 children had no obvious definitive cause for retardation, although epilepsy, mixed eye and hand dominance, visual perceptive disorders, or poor muscle tone was present in some. In the remaining 523 children, primary brain damage was evident. A sample of 142 of these brain-damaged children revealed that 38 had neurotic symptoms, 23 were antisocial, 11 were psychotic, 28 had restless, disturbed activity, and 42 had intellectual lowering only.

 

The authors suggest that both psychological and organic factors must be taken into consideration in order to complete diagnostic evaluation. The psychological factors include social class, economic condition, parental stimulation, emotional deprivation, interpersonal problems in a family and psychic stress.

 

ASSOCIATION OF SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION:

Certain socio-psychological factors are also responsible for causing mental retardation. This has been called by Grossman (1973) as retardation due to psycho-social disadvantage. Cassell (1973) further reports that the incidence of mental retardation is consistently higher in poor urban areas.

 

However, from this alone it cannot be concluded that economically and educationally deprived children are prone to mental retardation. Some surveys in India indicate that poor and rich are more or less equally afflicted by mental retardation. Cases of untreated infections like meningitis, syphilis, whooping cough lead to mental retardation. Studies by Benda et al. (1983) and Heber (1970) indicated that the families of the retarded were educationally backward and economically deprived. Emotional starvation of the child due to long and continuous isolation from parents during early childhood, leaving the child with the servants and baby sitters, avoiding breast feeding, precipitated mental retardation in higher income groups. Subrahmanya (1983) made a screening of 1498 rural children (3—15 years) of Bangalore and the prevalence rate was 27.4 per thousand. On the whole nutritional factors like pre and post natal under nutrition, environmental factors such as sensory or cognitive deprivation or both, socio cultural factors like social disadvantage, lack of access to health services appear to play paramount role in the onset of mild M.R. Observations indicated that there was over representation of mild M.R. among children born to mothers who were under-nourished during pregnancy.

 

Social factors include poor psychological, social and environmental conditions. Mild mental retardation has been particularly associated with psychosocial disadvantages. It has been estimated that children born into poverty are 15 times more likely to be classified as mentally retarded than children born into other socioeconomic groups. It is not poverty itself that causes the mental retardation but the interaction of physical, sociological and psychological factors that hampers the chances for normal growth and development.

 

ATTITUDE:

Socially, economically disadvantaged people are overburdened with their own worries and anxieties. They usually transmit a sick feeling, a feeling of displeasure and unhappiness which is not conducive for proper mental development of the child. On the contrary, they pave way for mental retardation. They are to be more precise, culturally deprived and do not get stimulating environment for proper mental development. These children may not be able to adjust well at school and may lag behind. Lack of proper experience, stimulating environment along with necessary attitude for learning stands on the way of formal schooling, further deteriorates the mental retardation condition.

 

PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP:

The type of parent child relationship, prevalent in different social groups determines the degree of mental retardation. Psychologists believe that generating a feeling of rejection in the child, giving him an unwanted feeling and pressurizing him may lead to mental retardation. In lower and lower middle socio-economic groups, both the father and mother go out to earn their living as the father’s pay packet alone becomes insufficient to maintain the family. Consequently when mothers go out to work, the responsibility of the child falls either on the servant or baby sitter or older sibling or a relative. The child should be given love and warmth. But this should not amount to something like overprotection or indulgence. The parents should therefore be sympathetic, but nonetheless, firm and consistent this will elevate the growth of useful habits and attitudes in the child. Early emotional deprivation and disturbed parent child relationship has a possible role to play in mental retardation. Emotionally insecure children usually become oversensitive to stresses and strains of life and become susceptible to mental retardation. Because of mental deprivation the rate of growth and development is arrested and one becomes more susceptible to environmental stress and the adaptability capacity decreases. Lack of social, emotional and motivational support for child prepares ground for mental retardation.

 

HOME ENVIRONMENT:

Inadequate home environment may be of the important causes of mental retardation. Socially disadvantaged people have unsuitable home environment for the proper development of the child. He may be more prone to diseases and damages in such unsuitable home environments.

 

CONCLUSION:

Psychosocial factors such as psychological trauma, impoverished environment, low socioeconomic status and certain cultural influences on child rearing were identified to be detrimental to development, leading to mental retardation. Mainly, genetic, physical, social and psychological factors have been associated with the occurrence of mental retardation.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/mental-retardation/psychological-factors-associated-with-the-occurrence-of-mental-retardation/12500/

2.        http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Psychosocial_mental_retardation?action=edit&section,1&veaction,edit

3.        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1849545/?page=1

4.        Amarjyothi Persha et al. 2007. Biological and psychosocial predictors of developmental delay in persons with intellectual disability: retrospective case-file study. Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. Vol, 18 No. 1 (93-100).

5.        George S. Baroff & J.Gregory Olley. 2014. Mental retardartion, nature, cause and management. Psychological factors in mental retardation. 3^rd edtion, 221. Routledge, Taylor & francis group.

6.        Dorothy R, Marlow & Barbara A, Redding. 2013. Textbook of pediatrics nursing. Mental retardation. 6^th edition. 801. Elsevier.

 

 

 

 

Received on 15.11.2018          Modified on 03.12.2018

Accepted on 28.12.2018     © A&V Publications all right reserved