Child, Parent, and Family Adjustment for Patients Followed in a Multidisciplinary Spina Bifida Clinic

This study examines the well-being of children with spina bifida, their parents, and their families by looking at factors like quality of life, mental health symptoms, and how well the family functions together. The study found that children with spina bifida may have a lower health-related quality of life, but this isn't always linked to more severe mental health symptoms. Parents, on the other hand, reported good quality of life and family functioning. The research suggests that it's important to find ways to help these children improve their quality of life and to understand what helps families cope well despite the challenges of spina bifida.

• 1
  Almost half of the children and adolescents with spina bifida reported being at risk for poor psychosocial functioning based on their health-related quality of life.
• 2
  Parents of children with spina bifida reported higher quality of life and better family functioning compared to parents of children with other chronic health conditions or ADHD, and even compared to healthy control samples.
• 3
  Lower family functioning was observed in families where the child with spina bifida had a shunt, indicating that this health variable may represent a target for family intervention.