The roles of self-compassion and social support on the maternal adjustment to a child's hip dysplasia

Abstract

Parenthood can be challenging when facing a child's chronic illness such as developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Although social support is known as a protective factor for the caregiver's mental health, the role of self-compassion is less explored. This study, conducted in Portugal, explored whether self-compassion and social support mediate the relationship between mothers' psychological adjustment and perception of their child's illness. Ninety-four mothers of children with DDH completed questionnaires on illness perception, self-compassion, perceived social support, and psychological distress. Results suggested that self-compassion and social support mediated the relationship between mothers' overall negative perception of the children's illness and psychological distress. The final model accounted for 50% of the variance of depressive symptoms, 40% of anxiety, and 63% of perceived stress. This study highlights the potential value of encouraging mothers to seek social support when facing their child's DDH diagnosis. Promoting self-compassion may be important in clinical intervention.

Keywords: chronic illness in children; hip dysplasia; maternal adjustment; self-compassion; social support.

Figure 1.

Final path model. Standardized path coefficients among variables are presented. All path coefficients are statistically significant. *p < 0.05. ***p < 0.001.