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ABSTRACT Social support and stress have been shown to modify the course of chronic illness in adults. This has not been examined in the pediatric population although clinical observations

suggest that maternal social support and stress may affect the outcome of a child's chronic illness. This study examines the relationship between these maternal factors and the

asthmatic child's morbidity. A group of 35 mothers of asthmatic children seen at Children's Hospital at Stanford completed a questionnaire assessing their social support, stress

and compliance with medical care. Baseline morbidity data were collected by maternal recall of emergency room visits (ER) and hospitalizations for the child's asthma over the past year,

type of medication used and the mother's perception of the severity of the asthma. Chi-square analysis of the data showed: 1) mothers with low social support perceived increased

severity of their children's asthma, 2) children of mothers with small social networks had more ER visits per year and 3) while maternal stress alone was unrelated to morbidity, mothers

who had both high stress and small social networks had children with more ER visits per year than other groups. Neither social support nor stress were related to the degree of asthma,

seasonality or type of medication used. These data suggest that measures of maternal social support and stress can delineate a subgroup of mothers whose children have higher morbidity and

who may derive maximum benefit from supportive care by health professionals. ARTICLE PDF AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department or Pediatrics, Joann Blessing-Moore,

Stanford University School or Medicine, Stanford, California Fernando S Mendoza, John A Martin, Ruth T Gross, Iris F Litt & Norman J Lewiston Authors * Fernando S Mendoza View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * John A Martin View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Ruth T Gross

View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Iris F Litt View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar *

Norman J Lewiston View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE

Mendoza, F., Martin, J., Gross, R. _et al._ 78 SOCIAL SUPPORT AND STRESS IN MOTHERS OF ASTHMATIC CHILDREN: RELATIONSHIP TO MORBIDITY. _Pediatr Res_ 15 (Suppl 4), 452 (1981).

https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00087 Download citation * Issue Date: 01 April 1981 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00087 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the

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