Depression among children with and without Learning Disability

Abstract

Students with learning disabilities (LDs), may be at a greater risk for developing mental disorders because they tend to have lower self-concept, higher external loci of control, less socially accepted and more anxious than their peers without LD (Margalit& Shulman, 1986).The present study aimed to compare children with and without LDon depressive symptoms, including age and gender influence. A sample of 320 children (LD=160, Without LD=160) with age range of 9–16 years in both genders were employed through purposive sampling.The Children's Depression Inventory 2nd Edition (CDI2; Kovacs, 2009) was used to assess depression symptoms in the selected samples. Two-way ANOVA was employed to find out the influence of group, gender and age on depressive symptoms. Results revealedthat children with LD had higher depression symptoms scores than without LD subjects. Male subjects had higher total depressive symptoms scores, and subjects with 13–16 years had higher depression symptoms scores. Implications and limitations of the results are discussed with reference to previous research and directions for future investigation.