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Testing the Biobehavioral Family Model in pediatric asthma: pathways of effect

Beatrice L Wood1, Jungha Lim, Bruce D Miller

  • 1Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. bwood@buffalo.edu

Family Process
|April 17, 2008
PubMed

Insights

A negative family emotional climate (NFEC) is linked to increased asthma severity in children, primarily through depressive symptoms. Parent-child relational security also independently impacts child depression, not mediating the NFEC effect.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychology
  • Behavioral Medicine
  • Asthma Research

Background:

  • Asthma is a significant pediatric health concern with complex etiologies.
  • Family dynamics and emotional climate are increasingly recognized as potential influences on chronic disease severity.
  • The Biobehavioral Family Model posits psychobiological pathways linking family processes to health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that a negative family emotional climate (NFEC) contributes to childhood asthma severity.
  • To examine the mediating role of child depressive symptoms and parent-child relational insecurity in this relationship.
  • To explore the applicability of the Biobehavioral Family Model to asthma.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory-based, multiinformant, multimethod study.
  • 199 children with asthma (aged 7-17) and their parents participated.
  • Assessed NFEC, parental conflict, relational security, depressive symptoms, and asthma severity using validated measures and clinical evaluations.

Main Results:

  • NFEC significantly predicted child depressive symptoms (beta = .19).
  • Child depressive symptoms predicted increased asthma disease severity (beta = .23).
  • Parent-child relational security independently predicted lower depressive symptoms (p = -.40) and did not mediate the NFEC effect.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support the Biobehavioral Family Model's principles regarding family processes and asthma.
  • Childhood depression, influenced by family emotional climate, is a key factor in asthma severity.
  • Parent-child relational security plays an independent role in child emotional well-being, impacting asthma management.

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