Disease-related stress in parents of children who are overweight: relations with parental anxiety and childhood psychosocial functioning

J Child Health Care. 2007 Jun;11(2):132-42. doi: 10.1177/1367493507076065.

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Pediatric Inventory for Parents, a measure of chronic disease-related parental stress, were examined in a sample of 72 children and adolescents who are overweight. The correlations between disease-related parental stress and general parenting stress, parental and child anxiety and children's behavioral and psychological maladjustment were examined. The results demonstrated excellent internal consistency and modest correlations with a measure of general parenting stress. Significant and positive relations of medium to large effect sizes between disease-related parenting stress and internalizing and externalizing maladjustment were found. Internalizing and externalizing behavior moderated the relations between disease-related parenting stress and parental distress. Recommendations for use of the Pediatric Inventory for Parents in clinical settings and future research directions are discussed.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Child
  • Chronic Disease / psychology
  • Expressed Emotion
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Obesity / psychology*
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Parenting / psychology*
  • Psychological Tests*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Stress, Psychological / diagnosis*