Parenting children with a cleft lip with or without cleft palate or a visible infantile haemangioma: a cross-sectional study of distress and parenting stress

Abstract

Introduction: Parents of children with a visible difference can experience demanding situations. It is likely that these parents experience more parenting stress than other parents. Objective: To evaluate distress and parenting stressh in parents of children with a visible infantile haemangioma or cleft lip. Methods: In a cross sectional survey, 309 parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate and 91 parents of children with an infantile haemangioma filled out the Dutch version of the Parenting Stress Index – Short Form and the subscales Anxiety, Depression and Hostility of the Dutch version of the Symptom Checklist – 90. Covariates were: type of condition, children’s and parental age, child gender, child behaviour problems, visibility of the condition and additional problems related to the condition. Findings: On average, parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate and of children with an infantile haemangioma indicated significantly lower levels of parenting stress when compared to the norm group (d = -0.79 to -1.53). Anxiety was lower in parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate compared to the norm group. Feelings of anxiety, depression, or hostility did not differ depending on the condition of the child. However, parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate experienced more parenting stress than parents of children with an infantile haemangioma. Discussion: Parents of children with visible differences report low levels of distress and parenting stress. On average, parents of children with a visible difference seem well-adjusted. Possible explanations may be personal growth or a response shift.