Children, Families and Parental Crohn's Disease. A Study of the Emotional Adjustment of Children in Families with Parental Crohn's Disease

      Аннотация: Crohn’s Disease is a chronic inflammation of the intestinal lining, including development of deep ulcers within the intestine, and affects the entire digestive tract. The nature of the disease and the difficulty in diagnosis can lead to complications including family functioning and disease management of this chronic illness. Very little research has been done on children’s emotional adjustment within families dealing with Crohn’s disease; however, determination of emotional adjustment of children within families coping with Crohn’s disease is vital for healthy child and adolescent development. This study seeks to find out if child outcomes, including anxiety/depression and withdrawal, are associated with the family structure, social support, hope and family functioning in families of parental Crohn’s Disease. The study was conducted using an Internet survey. Findings included the correlation between child emotional adjustment and aspects of family size, disease activity, family functioning and family coping.

Ключевые слова: children, Crohn's disease, emotional adjustment, parent, family coping, medical family therapy