title: Patients with univentricular heart in early childhood: parenting stress and child behaviour.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess perceptions of child behaviour and parenting stress among the parents of young children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and other forms of functionally univentricular heart defects (UVH).
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of our prospective nation-wide neurodevelopmental follow-up study, the parents of 23 patients with HLHS, 14 with UVH and 46 healthy controls at the mean age of 18 months received the questionnaires Child Behavior Checklist and Parenting Stress Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The reported level of total parenting stress was significantly higher among the mothers (mean score 241 vs 205, p < 0.001) and fathers (235 vs 202, p = 0.003) of patients with HLHS compared with those of controls. The parents of patients with HLHS reported significantly more total (mean T score 52 vs 45, p = 0.005) and internalizing (51 vs 41, p < 0.001) behaviour problems than the controls, but among the syndrome scales, a significant difference was only found in somatic complaints. The parents of patients with UVH did not report more parenting stress or emotional problems than the controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart defect, increases parenting stress. The reported emotional maladjustment in affected children might in part be owing to somatic complaints.
authors: Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, Finland. anne.sarajuuri@hus.fi
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sarajuuri
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Lönnqvist
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Schmitt
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Almqvist
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Jokinen
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D018636:Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires