The Impact of Parenting Styles on Anxiety and Depression in Children With Learning Disabilities

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of anxiety and depression in children with learning disabilities based on parenting style. The study was a quasi experimental research design. It was hypothesized that there are significant differences in anxiety and depression in children with learning disabilities based on parenting styles. In order to test the hypotheses, a group of 32 children with learning disabilities (21 boys & 11 girls) between the age group of 7 to 15 years along with their parents were selected using purposive sampling method. The children were given the The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression scale (RCADS Short form ) by Chorpita, Moffitt and Gray. The questionnaire was read out to them in the presence of the caregiver. The Parenting Style Questionnaire by Robinson, Mandelco, Olsen, and Hart (1995) was administered to the child's caregiver. The data was then collected and the Mann Whitney U- test was used to analyze the obtained data. The results do not validate the hypotheses which states that there are significant differences in anxiety and depression in children with learning disabilities based on parenting styles.