HRQOL in caregivers of children with and without neurodevelopmental disabilities

The goal of this study is to investigate the HRQOL of familial caregivers attending to children with neurodevelopmental disorders compared with caregivers of neurotypical children. Comparative analyses of HRQOL will be performed depending on the severity of the child's disorder and the presence of comorbidities (i.e., children with comorbid diagnosis versus children with one neurodevelopmental disorder). We assume that caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders have a more negative perception of HRQOL than caregivers of children with neurotypical development. Specifically, we expect that the most affected areas will be those related to physical and mental health. Secondly, we anticipate that caregivers of children with comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders would report a more negative perception of their physical and mental health than caregivers of children without comorbidities. Finally, along the same line, we expect caregivers of children with moderate and severe disabilities to report a lower HRQOL than caregivers of children with mild disabilities.