Differential patterns of maternal and child adaptation to chronic illness

This study investigated the psychosocial adaptation of women with fibromyalgia (FM, n = 22), compared to women with a similar chronic illness, rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 14), and physically healthy women (n = 21). It also investigated how the psychosocial adaptation of these women influenced their children's psychosocial adjustment. Women were interviewed using Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis . They also completed several questionnaires that examined symptoms of psychopathology and depression, coping strategies, self-efficacy, family functioning, as well as a behavioural index for the participating child. The eldest child of each woman, either male or female, between the ages of 8 and 18 was interviewed using the Child Assessment Survey. In addition, the children completed self-report questionnaires that examined depressive symptoms, coping methods, and self-efficacy. Results indicated that women with FM displayed significantly poorer psychosocial adaptation than women with RA and physically healthy women. Women with FM were more likely than physical healthy women to have received at least one psychiatric diagnosis in their lifetime, and to have more self-reported psychological symptomatology than women with RA or healthy comparison women. Greater illness severity, lower self-efficacy, and effectiveness of coping strategies were found to be predictive of maternal psychosocial adaptation. No group differences were found in children's psychosocial adjustment; however, maternal psychological functioning, in particular depressive symptomatology, was found to significantly predict child depression and overall adjustment. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that women with FM experienced poorer psychosocial adaptation compared to women with RA and physically healthy women; however, despite their mothers' poorer adaptation, children of women with FM did not display problems in adjustment relative to children of women with RA and children of physically healthy women.