No Difference in Relationship Satisfaction Between Parents of Children with Enuresis and Normative Data

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2016-04, Vol.25 (4), p.1345-1351
• Main Authors: Cederblad, Maria, Engsheden, Natalie, Ghaderi, Ata, Enebrink, Pia, Engvall, Gunn, Nevéus, Tryggve, Sarkadi, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety-Depression; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child Abuse; Child and School Psychology; Child Rearing; Childrearing practices; Children; Children & youth; Competence; Fathers; Gender differences; Hyperactivity; Interpersonal relations; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mental Disorders; Mothers; Nocturnal enuresis; Normative data; Original Paper; Parental conflict; Parenting; Parents; Parents & parenting; Personal relationships; Psychology; Quality; Relationship satisfaction; Severity; Social Sciences; Sociology; Urinary incontinence
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-015-0298-0

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate relationship satisfaction in parents of children with nocturnal enuresis and put it in context by comparisons with normative data. The secondary aim was to investigate the potential differences in feelings of incompetence in the parenting role and parental conflict among parents of children with enuresis of varying severity. Parents (n = 52) of 41 children with enuresis aged between 6 and 12 years participated. The questionnaire consisted of five components: demographic background, The Dyadic Adjustment Scale, The Swedish Parent Stress Questionnaire, The Parent Problem Checklist, and The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Normative data was used to provide an age- and gender-stratified sample, with adequate distribution and representation of both sexes and all ages. This sample consisted 1411 parents of 1411 children aged 6–9 years. Parents of children with enuresis reported similar relationship quality as a representative sample of parents with children of the same age. The parents’ report of feeling of incompetence and parental conflict were similar among children with enuresis of varying frequency. Mothers reported more problematic areas related to child rearing than fathers. This study shows that to have a child with enuresis doesn’t necessarily affect the parents’ feeling of competence or the quality of the intra-parental relationship.