Table 1.
Background characteristics of parents and their children with a chronic illness (N = 272)
| N | Mean (SD) or % | |
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics of parents | ||
| Age in years | 272 | 43.1 (7.3) |
| Sex (Female)a | 235 | 86 |
| Married and/or living together | 246 | 90 |
| Number of (step)children living in your family | ||
| 1 | 34 | 13 |
| 2 | 148 | 54 |
| 3 | 63 | 23 |
| > 3 | 26 | 10 |
| Prior psychosocial support, yes | 150 | 55 |
| … from a psychologist | 94 | 35 |
| … from a (medical) social worker | 51 | 19 |
| … from a child life specialist | 27 | 10 |
| Characteristics of children | ||
| Age in years | 272 | 10.7 (5.8) |
| Sex (female) | 125 | 46 |
| Chronic Illnesses (main diagnosis) | ||
| Epilepsy | 68 | 25 |
| Neurofibromatosis Type½ | 57 | 21 |
| Diabetes Type 1 | 36 | 13 |
| Cystic Fibrosis | 21 | 8 |
| Cancer | 12 | 4 |
| Neurological disease (other than epilepsy) | 11 | 4 |
| Migraine | 10 | 4 |
| Other | 51 | 19 |
| Second diagnosis | 91 | 33 |
aThree females filled out the questionnaire together with their partner (male)