Parent- and Youth-Reported Illness Uncertainty: Associations With Distress and Psychosocial Functioning Among Recipients of Liver and Kidney Transplantations

The Association of Illness Uncertainty to Parent and Youth Adjustment in Juvenile Rheumatic Diseases: Effect of Youth Age

“…Consistent with previous research within other pediatric chronic illness populations, parental uncertainty was significantly associated with both parental distress 16 and youth distress. 30 Furthermore, consistent with hypotheses, youth age was found to moderate this relation such that the magnitude of the association between parental uncertainty and parent distress was greater among older youth. Similarly, youth age was found to moderate the relation between parental uncertainty and youth depressive symptoms.…”

Models of Resilience: Developing Psychosocial Interventions for Parents of Children with Chronic Health Conditions

“…Illness uncertainty has been shown as a robust predictor of overall distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents of children with chronic illnesses, including cancer (Fuemmeler, Mullins, & Marx, 2001;Grootenhuis & Last, 1997a, 1997b, as well as with children and adolescents with solid organ transplants (Maikranz, Steele, Dreyer, Stratman, & Bovaird, 2007;Steele, Aylward, Jensen, & Wu, 2009), in young adults with asthma (Mullins, Chaney, Pace, & Hartman, 1997), in adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer (Neville, 1998), in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (Hoff, Mullins, Chaney, Hartman, & Domek, 2002), and in samples of children with other chronic conditions , among others. Illness uncertainty has been shown as a robust predictor of overall distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents of children with chronic illnesses, including cancer (Fuemmeler, Mullins, & Marx, 2001;Grootenhuis & Last, 1997a, 1997b, as well as with children and adolescents with solid organ transplants (Maikranz, Steele, Dreyer, Stratman, & Bovaird, 2007;Steele, Aylward, Jensen, & Wu, 2009), in young adults with asthma (Mullins, Chaney, Pace, & Hartman, 1997), in adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer (Neville, 1998), in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (Hoff, Mullins, Chaney, Hartman, & Domek, 2002), and in samples of children with other chronic conditions , among others.…”

“…To date, a considerable body of empirical research supports the salient role of this construct in predicting adjustment outcomes. Illness uncertainty has been shown as a robust predictor of overall distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents of children with chronic illnesses, including cancer (Fuemmeler, Mullins, & Marx, 2001;Grootenhuis & Last, 1997a, 1997b, as well as with children and adolescents with solid organ transplants (Maikranz, Steele, Dreyer, Stratman, & Bovaird, 2007;Steele, Aylward, Jensen, & Wu, 2009), in young adults with asthma (Mullins, Chaney, Pace, & Hartman, 1997), in adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer (Neville, 1998), in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (Hoff, Mullins, Chaney, Hartman, & Domek, 2002), and in samples of children with other chronic conditions , among others. Given this robust relationship, it stands to reason that by targeting illness uncertainty, the impact of a chronic illness could be attenuated.…”

The quality of information received by parents of children with chronic ill health attending hospitals as indicated by measures of illness uncertainty

“…Once established, these feelings of uncertainty can stubbornly persist . Consequently, failure of healthcare professionals to address parents’ uncertainty through effective communication can often lead to feelings of distress , family maladjustment and a deterioration in their physical and psychological health . Mishel emphasises that one factor over all others that can directly affect this uncertainty and improve coping abilities is the healthcare provider's interventions and interactions in giving appropriate, timely information.…”