title: Children with asthma. Few adjustment problems are related to high perceived parental capacity and family cohesion.
abstract: A cross-sectional investigation of 59 Swedish 7-9-year-olds with asthma and their parents was undertaken to study family factors of importance to the children's psychological adjustment. Children scored the I Think I Am questionnaire, a measure of global self-worth, parents the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Parents' report of family cohesion was assessed with the Family Climate questionnaire, perceived parental capacity with a combination of a short form of the Parental Locus of Control questionnaire and the Parenting Efficacy questionnaire. High family cohesion and high perceived parental capacity were both associated with a high average child-reported global self-worth and children having on average few emotional and behavioural problems according to parental ratings. We found no support for the often-held view that high family cohesion (i.e. enmeshment) is associated with poor psychological adjustment of the child. The study, although small and limited by its cross-sectional design, supports the association between family cohesion and perceived parental capacity on the one hand and psychological adjustment of children with asthma on the other.
authors.affiliation: Nordic School of Public Health, Göteborg, Sweden. Kjell@Reichenberg.se
authors.forename: Kjell
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reichenberg
authors.forename: Anders G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Broberg
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires