Comparing parental distress and children’s difficulties between parents of children with rheumatic diseases and parents of healthy children in families facing the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic could be a threat for the health status of children with a chronic condition. The present study aimed to explore parents’ and children’s psychological adjustment during the current pandemic, pursuing a triple objective: to compare the psychological adjustment of parents of children with pediatric rheumatic diseases (PRDs) and parents of healthy children; to analyze children’s psychological symptoms (emotional problems and hyperactivity) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with or without a PRDs diagnosis; to explore the associations of children’s emotional problems and hyperactivity with parents’ psychological adjustment, parent–child interactions and belonging or not to families with PRDs. This cross-sectional study involved 56 parents of children with PRDs and 53 parents of healthy children. Self-report questionnaires about parents’ depression, anxiety, parenting stress, and children’s emotional symptoms and hyperactivity-inattention were administered. No differences were detected on psychological adjustment between parents of children with PRDs and parents of healthy children. Parents of children with PRDs reported statistically significant higher levels of children’s emotional problems and hyperactivity before the pandemic, compared to parents of healthy children; during COVID-19 pandemic, emotional symptoms increased for both groups, while hyperactivity-inattention symptoms increased only in the group of healthy children. Children’s emotional difficulties were associated with higher levels of parental anxiety, worse parent–child interaction and having PRDs; children’s hyperactivity symptoms were related to parent–child difficult interaction and higher levels of parental depression. Findings suggest the importance to target the children in relation to their parents, when approaching the psychological aspects of PRDs.

Post-Infectious Acute Cerebellar Ataxia Treatment, a Case Report and Review of Literature

“…As in other patients that did not respond to high-dose steroid therapy, IVIG therapy has been used in acute cerebellar ataxia, with good outcomes [ 3 , 8 , 9 ]. Therefore, the resumption of the patient’s daily activities and the alleviation of distress in her parents underline the importance of focusing on the quality of life aspect in order to improve the quality of medical care, as has also been highlighted in other diseases [ 43 , 44 ].…”

Facing Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases: The Role of Disease Activity and Parental Emotion Regulation Strategy in Parents’ and Children’s Psychological Adjustment

“…In the context of chronic pediatric disease, the illness represents a significant source of chronic stress that could contribute to emotional and behavioral problems in children and can compromise adherence to medical treatment regimens [38]. Parents in this context may be more likely to develop more adaptive emotion regulation strategies for stressors and traumatic events to deal with the chronicity of their children's illness, functioning as a protective factor for their psychological maladjustment [12] and children's difficulties.…”

“…PRDs may have a physical and psychosocial impact on both affected children and their parents [11]. As for children, previous studies have highlighted higher levels of emotional difficulties and conduct problems in children with PRDs when compared with healthy ones [12,13]. In addition, experiencing negative emotions can lead to perceiving greater pain and functional disability [14].…”

ADHD Symptoms Increased During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis

“…Twelve studies measured ADHD symptoms longitudinally and six studies measured ADHD symptoms retrospectively. Two studies (Bosch et al, 2022; Bramanti et al, 2022) each included two separate samples of children, resulting in a total of 20 effect sizes for analysis. Sample sizes ranged from 30 children to 2,083 children and the mean sample size across all studies was 325 children.…”