78 SOCIAL SUPPORT AND STRESS IN MOTHERS OF ASTHMATIC CHILDREN: RELATIONSHIP TO MORBIDITY

Abstract

Social support and stress have been shown to modify the course of chronic illness in adults. This has not been examined in the pediatric population although clinical observations suggest that maternal social support and stress may affect the outcome of a child's chronic illness. This study examines the relationship between these maternal factors and the asthmatic child's morbidity. A group of 35 mothers of asthmatic children seen at Children's Hospital at Stanford completed a questionnaire assessing their social support, stress and compliance with medical care. Baseline morbidity data were collected by maternal recall of emergency room visits (ER) and hospitalizations for the child's asthma over the past year, type of medication used and the mother's perception of the severity of the asthma. Chi-square analysis of the data showed: 1) mothers with low social support perceived increased severity of their children's asthma, 2) children of mothers with small social networks had more ER visits per year and 3) while maternal stress alone was unrelated to morbidity, mothers who had both high stress and small social networks had children with more ER visits per year than other groups. Neither social support nor stress were related to the degree of asthma, seasonality or type of medication used. These data suggest that measures of maternal social support and stress can delineate a subgroup of mothers whose children have higher morbidity and who may derive maximum benefit from supportive care by health professionals.