Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders
Objective: This study applied the Family Systems Illness Model to examine how child disorder severity influences mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic (mainly developmental) disorders (CD). Methods: We measured parental mental health and perceived child disorder severity amon...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | PEC Innovation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000797 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846123212795019264 |
|---|---|
| author | Erica Zahl Agnes M. Willemen Trude Fredriksen Solveig M. Kirchhofer Torun M. Vatne Stian Orm Matteo Botta Caitlin Prentice Krister W. Fjermestad |
| author_facet | Erica Zahl Agnes M. Willemen Trude Fredriksen Solveig M. Kirchhofer Torun M. Vatne Stian Orm Matteo Botta Caitlin Prentice Krister W. Fjermestad |
| author_sort | Erica Zahl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: This study applied the Family Systems Illness Model to examine how child disorder severity influences mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic (mainly developmental) disorders (CD). Methods: We measured parental mental health and perceived child disorder severity among 204 mothers and 125 fathers of 220 children with CD and compared the mental health scores with norms. We analyzed how much of the variance in parental mental health was explained by child disorder severity, including discrepancy between maternally and paternally perceived severity. Results: Compared to norms, we found elevated mental health problems in both mothers (d = 0.45) and fathers (d = 0.20) of children with CD. Mothers had higher scores than fathers on both mental health problems (d = 0.63) and severity (d = 0.43). Perceived disorder severity was similarly associated with mental health problems for mothers (β = 0.23) and fathers (β = 0.34). Discrepancy between maternal and paternal perceived disorder severity did not influence parental mental health. Conclusion: Findings suggest gender-specific challenges in parenting children with CD. Subjective perception of disorder severity plays a substantial role for parental mental health. Innovation: This comparative study of mothers and fathers contributes to a predominantly mother-focused field. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-af3a5432da894eeb9d2c6d12317334b3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2772-6282 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PEC Innovation |
| spelling | doaj-art-af3a5432da894eeb9d2c6d12317334b32024-12-14T06:34:22ZengElsevierPEC Innovation2772-62822024-12-015100331Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disordersErica Zahl0Agnes M. Willemen1Trude Fredriksen2Solveig M. Kirchhofer3Torun M. Vatne4Stian Orm5Matteo Botta6Caitlin Prentice7Krister W. Fjermestad8Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po box 1094, N-0317 Oslo, Norway; Corresponding author.Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the NetherlandsInnlandet Hospital Trust, Po Box 104, Brumunddal, Norway,Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po box 1094, N-0317 Oslo, Norway; Nic Waals Institute, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Lovisenberg Hospital Trust, Po box N-4970, Nydalen, Oslo, NorwayFrambu Resource Center for Rare Disorders, Sandbakkvn 18, N-1404 Siggerud, NorwayFrambu Resource Center for Rare Disorders, Sandbakkvn 18, N-1404 Siggerud, Norway; Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Vormstuguvegen 2, 2624 Lillehammer, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po box 1094, N-0317 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po box 1094, N-0317 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po box 1094, N-0317 Oslo, Norway; Frambu Resource Center for Rare Disorders, Sandbakkvn 18, N-1404 Siggerud, NorwayObjective: This study applied the Family Systems Illness Model to examine how child disorder severity influences mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic (mainly developmental) disorders (CD). Methods: We measured parental mental health and perceived child disorder severity among 204 mothers and 125 fathers of 220 children with CD and compared the mental health scores with norms. We analyzed how much of the variance in parental mental health was explained by child disorder severity, including discrepancy between maternally and paternally perceived severity. Results: Compared to norms, we found elevated mental health problems in both mothers (d = 0.45) and fathers (d = 0.20) of children with CD. Mothers had higher scores than fathers on both mental health problems (d = 0.63) and severity (d = 0.43). Perceived disorder severity was similarly associated with mental health problems for mothers (β = 0.23) and fathers (β = 0.34). Discrepancy between maternal and paternal perceived disorder severity did not influence parental mental health. Conclusion: Findings suggest gender-specific challenges in parenting children with CD. Subjective perception of disorder severity plays a substantial role for parental mental health. Innovation: This comparative study of mothers and fathers contributes to a predominantly mother-focused field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000797Mental healthMothersFathersChronic childhood disordersDisorder severity |
| spellingShingle | Erica Zahl Agnes M. Willemen Trude Fredriksen Solveig M. Kirchhofer Torun M. Vatne Stian Orm Matteo Botta Caitlin Prentice Krister W. Fjermestad Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders PEC Innovation Mental health Mothers Fathers Chronic childhood disorders Disorder severity |
| title | Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| title_full | Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| title_fullStr | Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| title_short | Mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| title_sort | mental health in mothers and fathers of children with chronic disorders |
| topic | Mental health Mothers Fathers Chronic childhood disorders Disorder severity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772628224000797 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ericazahl mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT agnesmwillemen mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT trudefredriksen mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT solveigmkirchhofer mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT torunmvatne mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT stianorm mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT matteobotta mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT caitlinprentice mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders AT kristerwfjermestad mentalhealthinmothersandfathersofchildrenwithchronicdisorders |