The ARCH Lab’s Reese Parks has recently published a paper titled “Informant reports of psychopathology in children with chronic physical illness over time: Role of parent psychological distress” in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
This paper used data from the ongoing Multimorbidity in Children and Youth Across the Life-course (MY LIFE) Study, which is following youth aged 2–16 years (at recruitment) with chronic physical illness and their parents. For this examination, only children old enough to self-report (10 years and older) were included, along with their parents.
Children with chronic physical illnesses—such as asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy—often face added mental health challenges, including emotional, behavioral, and attention-related symptoms. To provide effective care, health professionals rely on reports from both parents and children. However, these reports don’t always match, and parent mental health may influence these differences.
Researchers examined 106 parent–child pairs over two years to see how closely their reports of child mental health aligned and whether parent psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression) affected this agreement. Results showed that parent–child agreement was generally low to moderate at the start of the two year period, but improved over time. Parents with higher psychological distress did not consistently overestimate their child’s symptoms, as some theories suggest. In fact, agreement among these parents improved significantly over two years, reaching good levels. Meanwhile, parents tended to report fewer symptoms over time, while children’s self-reports were more stable.
These findings highlight the importance of using multiple informants and considering parent well-being when assessing child mental health. Integrated, family-centered approaches that foster open communication can help ensure children with chronic illness receive the right support at the right time.
