Comparing the Quality of Life and Marital Intimacy among Parents of Children with Down syndrome, Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities, and Parents of Normal Children

This study aimed to compare the quality of life and marital intimacy among parents of children with Down syndrome، parents of children with learning disabilities and parents of normal children. The research method was casual-comparative. Sample size included 170 participants، including 55 parents of children with Down syndrome، 56 parents of children with learning disabilities and 59 parents of normal children. Data were collected through WHO quality of life questionnaire، and Bagarozi marital Intimacy Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc tests. The results showed that the quality of life of parents with normal children was higher than parents of children with Down syndrome and parents of children with learning disabilities، and the quality of life of parents of children with learning disabilities was also significantly higher than parents of children with Down syndrome. The results also showed that parents of normal children had the highest marital intimacy and parents of children with learning disabilities had higher marital intimacy than parents of children with Down syndrome. Based on the findings of this study it can be concluded that these families need more support and educational and counseling services.