Abstract
Although the impact of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) extends beyond the patient to their parents and families, the focus of previous literature has largely been on investigating the patient’s medical and psychosocial functioning, with less consideration of the family system. Having a comprehensive understanding of parent and family functioning within the context of pediatric IBD is important given the role parents and family members have in the successful management of the disease and caring of the child. The current review paper aggregates the empirical research regarding parent and family functioning, including comparisons to normative samples, other illness groups, and how functioning relates to child psychosocial and health outcomes. Extant literature on parents and families in pediatric IBD has largely focused on the variables of parenting stress, parent psychosocial functioning, parent quality of life, and family functioning. Summary findings elucidate the complex relationships between parents, families, and children affected by IBD and highlight the importance of assessing parent and family functioning within pediatric IBD. The current review also offers implications for clinical practice, notes the limitations of the present literature, and provides recommendations for future research.
Highlights
The impact of pediatric chronic disease can be substantial for youth, their families, and their caregivers
Disruptions to daily life and increased stressors associated with illness may be burdensome within pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is a group of disorders (e.g., Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis) characterized by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and symptoms including abdominal pain, fever, fatigue, diarrhea, hematochezia, weight loss, and growth delays [1,2,3]
Based on the available literature, the current review focuses on parent and family functioning in relation to the child outcomes of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), psychosocial functioning, and disease activity and disease-related variables and largely includes cross-sectional and correlational findings, limiting causal implications
Summary
The impact of pediatric chronic disease can be substantial for youth, their families, and their caregivers. Poor emotional well-being can have considerable impacts on the child diagnosed as chronically ill, as difficulties with psychosocial functioning may impede parents’ abilities to supervise and manage disease-related tasks (e.g., medication adherence) [13,14]. The goals of the current narrative review were to (1) characterize parent and family psychosocial functioning difficulties across the domains of parenting stress, parent psychosocial functioning, parent quality of life, and family functioning, (2) examine those parent and family functioning domains in relation to child psychosocial and health outcomes, and (3) suggest areas for future research relevant to pediatric IBD. Based on the available literature, the current review focuses on parent and family functioning in relation to the child outcomes of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), psychosocial functioning, and disease activity and disease-related variables and largely includes cross-sectional and correlational findings, limiting causal implications
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
