title: Caregivers of children with a disorder of sex development: associations between parenting capacities and psychological distress.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Caregivers of children with a disorder of sex development (DSD) are at increased risk for maladaptive parenting capacities, such as high levels of parental overprotection and perceived vulnerability of their child, in addition to parenting stress. The current study aims to examine whether there are relationships between these parenting capacities and psychological distress, including depressive and anxious symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 134 caregivers of 90 children with a DSD. Caregivers completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived vulnerability, parenting stress, anxiety, and depression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that higher levels of parenting stress were related to more anxious and depressive symptoms in caregivers. Higher levels of perceived vulnerability were related to more anxious symptoms. Levels of parental overprotection were unrelated to anxious or depressive symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a relationship between parenting capacities and mental health outcomes in caregivers of children with DSD, although the direction of this relationship is not clear. Given the strong relationships between parenting stress and anxious and depressive symptoms, targeting parenting stress and/or psychological distress in these caregivers could result in better functioning overall.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Urology, Children's Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. Electronic address: cbwolfe@dmc.org.
authors.forename: Cortney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wolfe-Christensen
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Department of Health and Clinical Psychology, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fedele
authors.affiliation: University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kirk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Larry L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Mullins
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Urology, Children's Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
authors.forename: Yegappan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lakshmanan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Amy B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Wisniewski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D046468:Sexual Development / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Disorders of Sex Development; Parenting; Psychosocial