Table 1.
Description and results of the systematic review
| Varvogli and Waisbren (1999) | Read (2003) | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Quantitative Comparative | Quantitative Descriptive Comparative |
| N (persons) | 42 | 58 |
| Subject group and underlying disease | Mothers of 50 children with MD (40 biological and 2 adoptive) followed by the Mitochondrial Clinic at Children’s Hospital in Boston | Mothers of children with MD (n=29) Mothers of children with PKU (n=29) |
| Country | USA | USA |
| Focus aim | To describe whether there is psychopathology associated with mothering these chronically ill children. If so, is there a typical pattern of psychopathology? | To describe the socioeconomic and psychoaffective strain on the mother and the health services required to care for a child with a biochemical genetic disorder and to compare those factors in families with PKU and mitochondrial disease. |
| Measurement | Telephone interview | Telephone interview |
| Instruments | Questionnaire based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, second edition (MMPI-2) | Vineland Adaptive Behavior (VAB) Scale, 1984 Parenting Stress Index, 1995 |
| Quality of studies | Not specified in this publication. MMPI-2 is a revision of the classic multiple-choice questionnaire that is used extensively in research as a measure of personality and psychopathology. | VAB-scale: Conform the author studies confirming to the internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliability as well as evidence of construct, content and criterion-validity that are well documented in the test manual. Parenting stress index, short form. Test-retest reliability 0.84 α-reliability 0.91. Conform the author numerous studies documented construct and predictive validity in the test manual. |
| Selection of population is unclear. | Selection of population is unclear. | |
| Results: Needs and problems | 34 of the 42 mothers had scores in the pathological range on three or more scales, most hypochondriasis, hysteria and paranoia scales. | Mothers of children with MD report significantly greater socioeconomic and psychoaffective strain and require more healthcare resources than do mothers of children with PKU. |