Childhood chronic disease and family functioning: a study of phenylketonuria

Families with young children with phenylketonuria (n = 45) were compared with matched comparison families (n = 49) with respect to parental psychologic distress, marital satisfaction, parenting stress, family cohesion and adaptability, and child behavior. Multivariate analyses failed to show significant group differences. Univariate analyses indicated lower levels of adaptability and cohesion for the families with a child with phenylketonuria and evidence of lower levels of social competence in the children with phenylketonuria than in the comparison group. Group differences with regard to parental psychologic distress, marital satisfaction, and parenting stress were not found. The study results provide implications for understanding the impact of childhood chronic disease on families.