Perceived Child Vulnerability and Protective Behavior by Parents of Children with Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in childhood not only impacts the child itself, but may also result in higher stress and anxiety in parents. This study aims to assess whether these parents perceive their child as more vulnerable and use more protective parenting behavior, compared to parents of healthy children. Additionally, it explores the associations of perceived child vulnerability (PCV) and overprotection (OP) with parenting stress and anxiety, and various clinical and sociodemographic variables.

Both parent groups completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Child Vulnerability Scale, and the Parental Overprotection Scale. The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were simultaneous collected but analyzed and reported before.

The study included 45 parents (32 mothers) of 45 CKD patients (ages 0-18; median age 8; 16 girls). Compared with the control group (N = 45; 35 mothers), parents of CKD patients perceived their children as more vulnerable but did not exhibit higher levels of overprotective behavior. In the CKD group, parenting stress and anxiety were positively correlated with PCV, and medical comorbidities in the child were associated with higher PCV.

Parents of CKD patients perceive their children as more vulnerable than parents of healthy children, yet they do not exhibit higher levels of overprotectiveness. Higher PCV was associated with increased parenting stress and anxiety, especially in parents of children with medical comorbidities. These findings underscore the importance of implementing psychosocial interventions targeting these parental adjustment outcomes in pediatric nephrology departments.