title: Parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress: a cross-illness comparison.
abstract: The current study sought to investigate differences in parenting capacity variables across four disease groups. Parents (N = 425), the majority of whom were mothers, of children with either cancer, asthma, Type 1 diabetes, or cystic fibrosis, completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress. After controlling for significant demographic variables, parents of children with cystic fibrosis and asthma reported higher perceived child vulnerability than parents of children with either diabetes or cancer, while parents of children with asthma and diabetes reported higher parenting stress than parents of children with cancer or cystic fibrosis. No differences between disease groups were found for parental overprotection. The current study provides support for an illness-specific approach to understanding parenting capacity variables in the context of childhood chronic illnesses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. stephanie.hullmann@okstate.edu
authors.forename: Stephanie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hullmann
authors.forename: Cortney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolfe-Christensen
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fedele
authors.forename: Philip L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Rambo
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chaney
authors.forename: Larry L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Mullins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000523:psychology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult