The mental health of Muslim mothers in extended families living in Britain: The impact of intergenerational disagreement on anxiety and depression

Objectives. The study assessed the impact of intergenerational differences of opinion over child rearing on the mental health of Muslim mothers living in extended families. Design. The study adopted a correlational design in an attempt to identify factors that accounted for mental health problems. Methods. The child-rearing attitudes of mothers and grandmothers, mothers' mental health, levels of family acculturation and a range of other backgrou nd and demographic information was collected from 54 extended families livi ng in two Muslim communities in London using Urdu versions of standard ques tionnaires. Results. Rates of depression and anxiety among the mothers in the study wer e high. Grandmothers had more traditional attitudes to child rearing than d id mothers. Intergenerational discrepancy over child rearing was more marke d in more acculturated families. Discrepancy was associated with higher lev els of mothers' anxiety and depression. Conclusions. The unusually high levels of depression and anxiety displayed by Muslim mothers living in extended families can in part be accounted for by patterns of intergenerational discrepancy. These possibly reflect discor dant world views within those families that have been assimilated into the dominant British culture.