Assessment of anxiety and depression levels in parents of children presenting to the orthopedics outpatient clinic with the complaint of in-toeing

Aim: In-toeing, a variant of normal growth and development of children, is an important reason of referral to the orthopedics outpatient clinics. The aim of the present study is to determine the anxiety, depression, and trait anxiety levels in parents of children presenting to orthopedics and traumatology outpatient clinic with the complaint of in-toeing. In addition, the study aims to investigate the conditions that might be associated with the anxiety level of parents. Methods: This cross-sectional study included parents of 58 children who presented with the complaint of in-toeing (study group) and those of 40 healthy children (control group). The parents were required to fill in the sociodemographic data collection form, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-II), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The scale scores were compared statistically. Results: The Beck Anxiety Inventory and STAI-II scores of parents of children presenting with in-toeing were statistically significantly higher compared to the control group (P=0.002, P=0.046, respectively). Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between BDI and BAI, STAI-II and BDI, BAI and STAI-II in the study group (r=0.518, P=0.001; r=0.546, P=0.001; r=0.566, P=0.001; respectively). In the control group, there was a weak correlation between BDI and BAI (r=0.346, P=0.029). An analysis of anxiety levels of the mothers in the study group revealed significantly higher scores of BAI and STAI-II compared to the fathers (P=0.025, P=0.001, respectively). The BAI, BDI and STAI-II scores of parents taking the child to the physician more than once a month, the BDI scores of parents having a history of psychiatric treatment and the BAI scores of parents aged between 20-40 were significantly higher in the study group (P=0.001, P=0.001, P=0.001, P=0.001, P=0.033, respectively). Conclusion: The present study determined that anxiety levels were high in parents, especially mothers, who take their children to the physician frequently despite the absence of physical impairment. In addition, anxiety levels of parents were associated with taking the child to the physician more than once a month, having a history of psychiatric treatment and being aged between 20-40 years.