Risk factors for stress in children after parental stroke

Objectives: To assess risk factors for stress in children 3 years after parental stroke. Participants: Questionnaires were filled in by 44 children aged 7-18 years, parents who suffered a stroke and healthy spouses from 29 families recruited in 9 participating rehabilitation centers across the Netherlands. Method: We measured patient functioning (cognitive disorders, communicative disorders and ADL dependency), parental depression and perceived quality of marital relationship at 4 assessments, from the start of rehabilitation until 3 years post-stroke. Children assessed their stress level 3 years after parental stroke. Results: Girls experienced more stress than boys. Spouses' depressive symptoms during the first year after stroke were positively correlated with stress in children. Patients' depressive symptoms 2 months post-rehabilitation (2 months after discharge from the rehabilitation center), 1 year and 3 years post-stroke were also positively correlated with stress in children. The perceived quality of marital relationship decreased over time and at 2 months postrehabilitation, it was related to stress in children. Stress was not related to patient gender and functioning. Conclusions: Early prediction of long-term stress in children after parental stroke may be most accurate on the basis of children's female gender and depressive symptoms of the patient.