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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on March 13, 2008
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsn020
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Implications of Resolving the Diagnosis of PKU for Parents and Children

Bruce Lord, PhD1,2, Judy Ungerer, PhD2 and Colin Wastell, PhD2

1The Children's Hospital at Westmead, and 2Macquarie University

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bruce Lord, Clinical Programs Office, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead 2145 NSW, Australia. E-mail: brucel{at}chw.edu.au


  Abstract

Objective To examine resolution of the diagnosis among parents of children with phenylketonuria (PKU) as a mechanism of adjustment for parents and children. Methods Reaction to diagnosis interviews were conducted with 52 mothers and 47 fathers of 55 children with PKU aged 2–12 years. The parents also completed questionnaires assessing their personal adjustment (stress symptoms), their child's adjustment (behavior problems), and coping variables (personal hopefulness and coping strategies). Results Most mothers (69%) and fathers (77%) were resolved to their child's diagnosis. Lower levels of parent stress were explained by higher personal hopefulness (14% of the variance for mothers and 21% for fathers) and resolution of the diagnosis (15% of the variance for mothers and 6% for fathers) after taking account of demographic variables and severity of the child's PKU. Parent resolution, however, did not contribute independently to the variance explained in child behavior problems after taking account of coping variables and severity of PKU. Conclusions Resolution of the diagnosis of PKU is a strong indicator of parent adjustment, and assessment of parent reactions should be considered an integral component of clinical care. Further research is warranted in relation to the implications of parent resolution for the child's response to PKU through different development stages and the effectiveness of interventions in aiding parent resolution.

Key words: adjustment; child; coping; PKU; parent; resolution of the diagnosis.

Received April 21, 2007; revision received February 19, 2008; accepted February 20, 2008


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