Predictors of Parental Distress After Congenital Disabilities

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between child functional independence, family dynamics, psychosocial factors, and level of distress in parents of children with congenital disabilities. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, the Family Assessment Device (FAD), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were administered to 60 parents of children with cerebral palsy, 34 parents of children with spina bifida, and 27 parents of children with limb deficiencies. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that the Roles scale from the FAD and the presence of a significant new psychosocial stressor within the previous 6 months were statistically significant predictors of the level of parental distress as assessed by the BSI. Exploration of the extent to which families have adaptive distributions of responsibilities for dealing with domestic tasks, as well as with unrelated life stressors, may be helpful in identifying those parents of children with congenital disabilities who are at risk for distress.

Personality Styles, Psychological Adjustment and Gender Differences in Parents of Children with Congenital Disabilities

“…Results agree with those of Wiegner and Donders [2], but contradict the findings of Ulus and collaborators [55].…”

“…Although some studies associate the severity of a chronic condition in children with the psychological health of their mothers [7] [15], the majority of the empirical studies do not support such a hypothesis [2] [5] [54]. Usually it is difficult to reach a consensus on this issue due to the variability of the criteria used as a indicators of severity in different studies [55].…”

“…In this regard, it is commonly agreed that the level of stress and psychological maladjustment among mothers is higher, and this is mainly due to the differences in the caregiving and work roles within the relationship [2] [56]. The role of the mother as the primary caregiver has also been associated with greater uncertainty among these women in relation to their image as mothers and with an increased tendency to being more conventional [57] [58].…”

Maternal mental health in families of children with spina bifida

“…The proportion of SB mothers with poor mental health was 23.5%, compared to the proportion of those with psychopathological disorders (19% to 52%). [8][9][10][11][12] However these figures are not comparable, partly because of different measurement instruments used. Earlier studies used semi-structured interviews, which were later replaced by standardized measures of psychological symptoms.…”

“…Nevertheless, a control group is necessary when GHQ-12 is used in the clinical setting locally. The difference in effect size between SB and controls in this and other studies need to be interpreted with care, as it would vary depending on whether the control group comprises children with chronic illnesses, [10] normal means [12][13][14][15][16] or normal children from the same community. [8,11,17] Another confounding factor preventing direct comparison is the variability in the characteristics of the SB population among studies.…”