Assessment of Anxiety and Depression in Polish Primary Parental Caregivers of Children with Cerebral Palsy Compared to a Control Group, as well as Identification of Selected Predictors.

BACKGROUND: Taking care of a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP) may be linked with adverse effects in the parents' physical and mental health. The causes of anxiety and depression symptoms associated with childcare are still not fully understood. AIM: To assess the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms in parents of children with CP compared to a control group and to identify selected mental health predictors. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected from 301 respondents, including 190 parents of children with CP (study group) and 111 parents taking care of children developing normally (control group). Intensity of anxiety and depression was rated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scale. Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), Berlin Support Social Scales (BSSS) scales and a specially designed questionnaire were used to assess the predictors. The investigated variables included the children's and the parents' characteristics, as well as environmental factors. The analyses applied Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, M(SD) as well as multiple regression. RESULTS: The level of anxiety and depression was clearly higher in the parents of children with CP-the mean levels of anxiety and depression in the study group and the controls amounted to 8.1 vs. 4.7 and 6.8 vs. 3.7, respectively. The factors associated with intensity of anxiety and depression in the parents of children with CP included lack of social support, mainly perceived and received support, unsatisfying parental health status, poor economic status of the family, as well as difficult living conditions, sense of coherence, loneliness, the parent's gender, and the child's intellectual disability. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of significant anxiety and depression predictors, understood as modifiable factors, should be considered in determining and planning comprehensive support for a child with CP and his/her primary parental caregiver.

Psychomotor Abilities of Professional Handball Players.

The main purpose of the paper was to evaluate selected psychomotor abilities of handball players depending on the competition class (league), position on the court, training seniority and the dominant hand. The study covered a group of 40 handball players (age: 24.02 ± 3.99), while 50 non-training men (age: 22.90 ± 1.13) formed the control group. Studies were performed using Test2Drive computer tests. The following four tests were used for measuring psychomotor fitness: simple reaction time test, choice reaction time test, hand-eye coordination test and spatial anticipation test. An analysis revealed that handball players had better reaction times and movement times than the control group. The league, position on the court, training seniority and the dominant upper limb were analysed for their impact on the reaction time and movement time in handball players. An analysis of psychomotor abilities of handball players with regard to the league revealed that in the majority of tests the Superliga players had a shorter reaction time than players in lower leagues.