Objective: To examine longitudinal differences in reported stress between parents of children with and without single-suture craniosynostosis and to compare the stress reports of mothers and fathers.
Design: Multi-site, nonrandomized prospective study.
Setting/participants: Children with single-suture craniosynostosis (cases) were identified via referral of the treating surgeon or physician at the time of diagnosis, and those without single-suture craniosynostosis (controls) were recruited from pediatric practices, birthing centers, and announcements in print media. When children were aged 6, 18, and 36 months (on average), mothers and fathers of children with and without single-suture craniosynostosis completed the Parenting Stress Index. For cases, 247 mothers and 211 fathers completed the Parenting Stress Index at the first visit; corresponding numbers for controls were 254 and 220, respectively.
Main outcome measures: The Parenting Stress Index Parent and Child Domains and subscales scores.
Results: We found few differences between parents of infants with and without single-suture craniosynostosis, regardless of parent gender. Irrespective of case status, mothers consistently reported higher stress than fathers on the Parent Domain. Within the Parent Domain, mothers reported more stress than fathers on the Role Restriction and Spousal Support subscales.
Conclusions: The parents of children with single-suture craniosynostosis reported levels of stress similar to those reported by parents of same-aged, unaffected children. Mothers reported greater stress than fathers, and these differences remained remarkably stable over time. This may reflect widely held perceptions of gender differences in parenting roles.
Keywords: craniofacial condition; fathers; mothers; parenting stress; single-suture craniosynostosis.