title: Problem behavior, parental stress and enuresis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We determined maternal and paternal ratings of problem behavior in 5 to 13-year-old children with (non)monosymptomatic enuresis and investigated parental stress and the association between parental ratings of child behavior and parental stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared problem behavior in 78 children with (non)monosymptomatic enuresis vs that in 110 without enuresis using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale. Parental stress was measured using the Parenting Stress Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal results replicated previous findings of significantly higher Child Behavior Checklist scores for externalizing and total problems compared with those in the control group, whereas no significant differences were found for paternal ratings. Mothers and fathers of enuretic children reported significantly higher scores on the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity and oppositional defiant disorder subscales than parents of children without enuresis. The Parenting Stress Index revealed significantly higher overall stress in mothers and fathers of children with (non)monosymptomatic enuresis compared with that in parents of controls. Especially parental stress related to child characteristics was associated with a greater report of child behavior problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Each parent but especially mothers reported more problem behavior in children with (non)monosymptomatic enuresis than in controls. They also reported more stress, which correlates highly with parental ratings of problem behavior in children with (non)monosymptomatic enuresis.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Uro/Nephrologic Centre, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. elke.debruyne@uzgent.be
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Bruyne
authors.forename: Eline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Hoecke
authors.forename: Katrien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Gompel
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verbeken
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baeyens
authors.forename: Piet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hoebeke
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vande Walle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004775:Enuresis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005192:Family Health; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*