A Biopsychosocial Approach to Asthma in Adolescents Encountering Child Protective Services

Abstract

To further test the validity of the Biobehavioral Family Model (BBFM), a biopsychosocial approach to explaining the effects of family processes on illness, by testing the model with adolescents with asthma involved in child protective services (CPS), a sample for whom the model's constructs are highly relevant. Data are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, CPS sample (n = 5,501). Adolescents with asthma (n = 101, ages 11-15 years) self-reported their negative family emotional climate (NFEC; caregiver psychological aggression and caregiver relationship quality), caregiver-adolescent relational security, and depressive symptoms. Caregivers rated adolescent health quality. Models were tested using path analyses and bootstrapping. Path analyses and bootstrapping results demonstrate support for the BBFM in explaining health quality for this sample. Applying the BBFM to families involved with CPS demonstrates pathways by which family processes affect health quality of adolescents with asthma, underscoring the need for biopsychosocial assessments and services.