Low-birthweight adolescents: quality of life and parent-child relations.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the effect of low birthweight on quality of life, the parent-child relationship and the parents' mental health. DESIGN/STUDY GROUPS: A population-based follow-up of 56 very-low-birthweight (<or=1500 g), 60 term small-for-gestational-age (birthweight<10th centile) and 83 term control adolescents (birthweight>or=10th centile) at 14 y of age.


METHODS
Child Health Questionnaire (Child Form, Parent Form), Parental Bonding Instrument rated by adolescents and parents; Symptom Checklist-90-Revised rated by mothers and fathers.


RESULTS
There were no group differences in self-reported health or self-esteem. Parents reported more behavioural problems and lower psychosocial health for very-low-birthweight adolescents (p<0.001) compared with controls. Results did not differ significantly between small-for-gestational-age and control adolescents. The youngsters, their mothers and fathers perceived the same amount of relational warmth in all three groups. Very-low-birthweight parents reported more emotional impact than control parents, especially in the presence of psychiatric problems and cerebral palsy. There were no group differences in mothers' or fathers' mental health.


CONCLUSIONS
The low-birthweight adolescents perceived quality of life as others did, but the parents reported functional disadvantages for the very-low-birthweight group. Birthweight did not influence the warmth in the parent-child relationship. Parents of very-low-birthweight adolescents experienced increased emotional burden, but they did not have more mental health problems than others.
Indredavik
Marit S
MS
Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. marit.s.indredavik@medisin.ntnu.no
Vik
Torstein
T
Heyerdahl
Sonja
S
Romundstad
Pål
P
Brubakk
Ann-Mari
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D016014:Linear Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires