Features of Psychopathological Reaction in Parents Whose Children Suffer From Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders

Abstract

The aim: Was exploring features of psychopathological reaction in parents whose children suffer from chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Materials and methods: Clinically, 40 fathers and 64 mothers of children suffering from chronic muscular motor pathologies using M. Hamilton’s Depression and Anxiety Scale and Buss-Durkee Hostility Invertory were examined. Results: It was revealed that the foundation of psychopathological reactions of parents to the chronic illness of children is depressive (from 68,2% to 97,0%) and anxiety (from 40.9% to 100.0%) disorders, and dyssomic disorders as well (from 18.2% to 93.9%), asthenic (from 9.1% to 81.8.%), affective lability (from 9.1% to 36.4%), apathetic (from 4.5% to 42.4%), cognitive (from 4.5% to 42.4%) and obsessive-phobic (from 4.5% to 39.4%) disorders. Mothers with longer and shorter periods of illness in children showed higher levels of depression (20.82 ± 5.94 and 20.26 ± 6.59 respectively) and anxiety (19.06 ± 5.00 and 17, 77 ± 5.65) compared with fathers (17.44 ± 8.78 and 10.82 ± 6.21, respectively; 14.72 ± 5.57 and 14.95 ± 4.45), but fathers showed higher levels of aggression 65.59 ± 10.42 and 63.21 ± 10.31 (respectively versus 55.27 ± 6.97 and 49.72 ± 10.00). Conclusions: А high level of psychopathological reaction in mothers is detected at short periods of disease, and in fathers it significantly grows as the duration of child’s illness increases.

The psychological aspects of parents who take care of children with chronic illnesses: A Review of the literature

“…[18][19][20] Finally, Continisio et al, (2020) and Belov et al, (2021) documented high levels of stress in parents of children with cystic fibrosis and musculoskeletal problems respectively, with the latter indicating that mothers reported higher levels of psychological stress while the fathers of physical stress. [21,22] In terms of depression, Kub et al (2017) assessed the psychological state of parents caring for children with asthma and concluded that over time and specifically after one year, parents showed lower levels of depression. However, the level of depression was increased by the occupational activities of the parents.…”

“…[18] Carnassi et al, (2018) and Belov et al, (2021) supported that mothers tend to have higher levels of depression than fathers. [11,22] Also, Makara StudziNska et al, (2019) and Van Gamprelaere et al, (2020) reported a high level of depression among parents of children caring for a child with T1DM. [7,8] Literature also suggested that parental depression of parents with a child suffering from diabetes mellitus was related to the origin of the name and the presence of siblings in the family.…”

“…2021), that assessed parents of children with chronic musculoskeletal problems and T1DM, showed that mothers presented a higher level of emotional distress compared to fathers. [22,29] Last, Commisariat et al, (2020) and Al Qadire et al, (2020) correlated the emotional burden of parents with the insufficient quality of care provided to their child, financial difficulties, the child's symptoms and an inability to find a qualified and responsible caregiver for their child. [17,30] A significant part of the literature indicates the deterioration of the quality of life of the parents of children who cared for a child with a chronic disease.…”