Past Issues

Objective:“Face” in Asian culture refers to social position that is based on one’s performance in an interpersonal context. The face concern is associated with psychological distress among caregivers of subjects with mental retardation. But whether face concern is associated with depressive disorders for caregivers of chil-dren with developmental delay remains unclear. This study was intended to assess the association between face concern and depressive disorder in a group of caregivers of children with developmental delay. Methods:We enrolled 217 caregivers of children with developmental delay in an early intervention program in south Taiwan to this study. Each participant was asked to complete the Loss of Face Scale (LOF) to assess his/her level of face concern and the Care Burden Inventory to assess care burden. Depressive disorder was diagnosed using the Mini-Interna-tional Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Results:Twenty-six (12.0%) caregivers were found to have depressive disorder. A significant relationship existed between high face concern and depressive disorders of caregivers. After controlling caregiver’s income, occupation, education, and care burden, significant difference still existed in face concern between caretakers with and without depressive disorders (p< 0.05, odds ratio (OR): 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13 - 3.32). With (OR) face concern being split into two domains, the significant difference only existed between caretakers with depressive disorders and those with self-face concern (p< 0.01, OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.33 - 3.58), but not between those with depressive disorders and those with other-face concern. Conclusion:Self-face concern had impact on the mental health of caregivers of children with develop-mental delay. Introducing a timely and supportive approach for face concern of those caregivers and giving appropriate treatment for those with depressive caregivers are important.