The association between parental mental health and behavioral disorders in pre-school children

Background and Aim: Behavioral disorders among children reflect psychological problems of parents, as mental illness of either parent would increase the likelihood of mental disorder in the child. In view of the negative relationship between parents’ and children’s illness, the current study intended to determine the correlation between mental health of parents and behavioral disorders of pre-school children. Methods: The present descriptive-correlational research studied 80 children registered at pre-school centers in Pardis Township, Tehran, Iran during 2014-2015 using convenience sampling. The research tools included General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ). The resulted data were analyzed using Pearson Product-moment Correlation Coefficient and regression analysis in SPSS 21. Results: The research results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between all dimensions of mental health of parents with general behavioral disorders (p