Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Self-Esteem in Turkish Parents of Children with Microtia

To describe factors affecting anxiety, depression, stress, and self-esteem in parents of children with microtia.

Cross-sectional correlational study.

Parents (N = 117) of children with microtia were recruited nationally through a Turkish craniofacial non-governmental organization's social media.

Demographics, parental report of microtia experiences and concerns, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

The mean parental age was 35.61 ± 5.96 years and 74.4% were female. The mean age of their children was 6.08 ± 4.22 years, 69.2% were male, 93.8% had unilateral microtia, and 14.5% had ear reconstruction. Some parents had low self-esteem (24.8%) and were in the severe range for depression (30.7%), anxiety (25.6%), and stress (21.4%). Depression (M = 7.43, SD = 5.35) was associated with worry about child's future (β = 0.25, P = .013), microtia information given around birth (β = -0.20, P = .024), and child no ear surgery (β = -0.23, P = .008), while stress (M = 8.21, SD = 5.37) was associated with worry about the child's future (β = 0.28, P = .008). Parental self-esteem (M = 29.59, SD = 5.10) was related to child having ear surgery (β = 0.19, P = .047) and information about microtia provided around birth (β = 0.22, P = .018). There were no significant associations with Anxiety (M = 6.04, SD = 4.82) identified by multiple regression.

While most parents were in the average to moderate range for clinical concerns, a fifth to a third of participants were in the severe range for depression, anxiety, and stress and a quarter of participants for low self-esteem. Informing families about the microtia treatment process, having the child have surgery, and interventions for reducing their future concerns may provide psychological relief for them.