Parental Stress of Mothers with Preschool-Aged Children with Atopic Eczema
Atopic eczema is an illness that affects as many as one preschool-aged child in five. Required treatments and precautions to reduce environmental irritants that can exacerbate symptoms have repercussions on family life. The main objective of this study is to identify the factors that have an impact on the parental stress of mothers with preschool aged children with atopic eczema. Thirty-one mother-child pairs from 27 bi-parental families participated in the study. Correlational analysis confirms a positive relationship between the mother's assessment of the seriousness of her child's skin, her role as the primary caregiver of the child with atopic eczema and her level of parental stress. Moreover, a negative relationship between her satisfaction with the help she receives and her stress level was observed. Finally, a multiple regression analysis made it possible to classify the three variables having notable impact on these mothers' stress levels. In order of importance, these variables are: satisfaction with the help received; the mother's role as the child's primary caregiver, and; the mother's assessment of the seriousness of the skin. These results should encourage health care providers working with these mothers to assess mothers' support network and perception of the seriousness of the illness in order to reduce stressors associated with the parental role.