Background and Purpose: Presence of a child with special needs may lead to different tensions for the parents and other family members. It may negatively affect the family functions and the relationship between the parents and may expose the family to negative psychological consequences. Whereas the frequency of consanguineous marriages in the parents of these children is higher than the normal level, this study was conducted to examine the psychological characteristics of kin and non-kin parents with more than one child with special needs.
Methods: This research was descriptive-analytical study with retrospective study. The study population consisted of all kin and non-kin parents with more than one child with special needs in Mazandaran province in 2017; i.e. 430 families in total. Among them, a sample of 150 families (75 kin parents and 75 non-kin parents) was selected by simple random sampling. The study tool was the Biological, Cognitive, Psychological and Social Characteristics Questionnaire for Parents (Afroz, 2004) which was completed through interviewing the parents. Chi-square and independent t-test were used to analyze the findings.
Results: Chi-square test showed that the kin and non-kin parents were significantly different in terms of marital satisfaction (p ≤ 0.05). The results of t-test showed that there was no significant difference between the kin and non-kin parents in terms of mother's readiness for pregnancy and parent's consistency in childbearing (p >0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, children with special needs have a negative effect on the mental health and quality of life of parents. Therefore, identifying the needs of these families and providing them with psychological and social support is essential. Also, preventing the birth of unwanted children must be emphasized as one of the important elements in training the parents.