[Parental stress in mothers of children with asthma]

Cases of asthma are increasing dramatically. Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children. Children's health and education can be affected by uncontrolled disease. Families play an important role in childhood asthma management. The main purpose of this study was to understand the parental stress and associated coping behaviors of mothers of children with asthma. The study adopted the survey design with the purposive sampling method. Data collection took place between December, 2003 and February, 2004. Sixty-eight mothers participated in the research. Data were collected with structured questionnaires, incorporating the Parental Distress Rating Scale, the Parental Coping Behavior Rating Scale, the Seriousness of Asthma Symptom Rating Scale and Demographic Data Sheet. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS/10.0 software. The results showed that factors affecting the mother's stress, included her age and the seriousness of the child's disease. Factors affecting the mother's coping behaviors included the mother's educational level, the child's age, the seriousness of the child's disease, the mother's age, the number of asthmatic children in the family, and the mother's system of belief. Using multiple regression analysis, the number of asthmatic children in the family, and the mother's coping behavior were found to be significant in explaining 47% of the variance in parental stress. We hope that these data will help clinical health care providers in fostering more effective strategies of health care in asthma of children and mother.