title: Predictors and Outcomes of Childhood Primary Enuresis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although enuresis is relatively common in early childhood, research exploring its antecedents and implications is surprisingly limited, perhaps because the condition typically remits in middle childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the prevalence, predictors, prognostic factors, and outcomes of primary enuresis in a large (N = 559) multi-method, multi-informant prospective study with a community-based sample of children followed from age 3 years to age 9 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 12.7% of our sample met criteria for lifetime enuresis, suggesting that it is a commonly occurring childhood disorder. Males were more than twice as likely as females to have a lifetime diagnosis. Significant age 3 predictors of developing primary enuresis by age 9 included child anxiety and low positive affectivity, maternal history of anxiety, and low authoritative parenting. In addition, poorer global functioning and more depressive and anxiety symptoms at age 3 years predicted a greater likelihood of persistence through age 9. By age 9 years, 77% of children who had received a diagnosis of primary enuresis were in remission and continent. However, children who had remitted exhibited a higher rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and greater ADHD and depressive symptoms at age 9 compared to children with no lifetime history of enuresis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of the present study underscore the clinical significance of primary enuresis and demonstrate that it shows both strong antecedent and prospective associations with psychopathology. The findings also highlight the possible role of parenting in the development of enuresis.
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY. Electronic address: ellen.kessel@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kessel
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
authors.forename: Anna E S
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Allmann
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
authors.forename: Brandon L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Finsaas
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland College Park.
authors.forename: Lea R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.affiliation: California State University San Marcos.
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bufferd
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Gabrielle A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004775:Enuresis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: children; externalizing; internalizing; parenting; primary enuresis