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Psychopathology and Parental Stress in 3-6-Year-Old Children with Incontinence

Hannah K Mattheus1, Kathrin Kiefer1, Rebecca Freund1

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany.

Zeitschrift Fur Kinder- Und Jugendpsychiatrie Und Psychotherapie
|May 7, 2021
PubMed

Insights

In young children, incontinence is common and linked to behavioral issues. Parental stress is primarily driven by comorbid mental disorders in children, not incontinence itself.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Psychology
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Incontinence and functional gastrointestinal disorders are prevalent in young children.
  • These conditions are associated with increased psychological symptoms and mental disorders.
  • Understanding the interplay between incontinence, parental stress, and child psychopathology is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between incontinence, toilet refusal syndrome, parental stress, and psychopathology in young children.
  • To compare psychological symptoms and parental stress in children with and without incontinence.
  • To identify key factors contributing to parental stress in the context of childhood incontinence.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study involving 38 parent-child dyads with children experiencing incontinence and 42 dyads with typically developing children.
  • Assessment of children's psychological symptoms and mental disorders using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).
  • Evaluation of parental stress related to child-rearing using the Parenting Stress Index-Child Domain (PSI-CD).

Main Results:

  • Children with incontinence exhibited higher internalizing and externalizing scores on the CBCL, with more clinically relevant externalizing problems.
  • No significant differences were found in clinically relevant internalizing problems or mental disorders between groups.
  • Parents of children with incontinence reported higher child-related stress, but overall parental stress remained below clinical levels.
  • Comorbid mental disorders in children, rather than incontinence alone, significantly impacted parental stress levels.

Conclusions:

  • Urinary and fecal incontinence are highly prevalent in young children, often accompanied by moderate parental stress.
  • Parental stress is predominantly influenced by the presence of comorbid mental disorders in children.
  • Targeting and managing mental health conditions in children may be key to reducing parental stress associated with incontinence.

Keywords:
Kinder im VorschulalterPsychopathologieelterlicher Stressfunctional gastrointestinal disordersfunktionelle Harninkontinenzfunktionelle gastrointestinale Störungenparental stresspsychopathologyurinary incontinenceyoung children

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