ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
The Study on the Relationship between Disease Control Status of Children with Asthma and Caregiver Psychological Resilience and Family Function
Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
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Abstract
Abstract Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease in children, and its control level is influenced by multiple factors. The psychological state of caregivers and family function may play important roles. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between asthma control in children and caregiver psychological resilience and family function. Methods: This retrospective study included 112 children with asthma and their primary caregivers who were admitted to our hospital between January 2022 and December 2024. The children were divided into a controlled group (n=60) and an uncontrolled group (n=52) based on their childhood asthma control test (C-ACT) scores. Data collection involved general information questionnaires, the general health questionnaire (GHQ), the coping health inventory for parents (CHIP), the family assessment device (FAD), and the family management measure (FaMM). These assessments were conducted during the patients' hospital visits. Results: Caregivers in the uncontrolled group had significantly lower self-affirmation scores (5.92±0.84 vs. 6.35±0.72, P=0.004) but higher depression (2.05±0.63 vs. 1.72±0.45, P=0.003) and anxiety scores (1.64±0.51 vs. 1.38±0.36, P=0.003). They also had lower scores on CHIP subscales (Family, Support, Medical, all P<0.05). Regarding family function, the uncontrolled group had significantly higher scores across all FAD dimensions (e.g., Problem-solving, Communication, all P<0.05) and worse scores on most FaMM subscales (e.g., lower Child Acceptance, higher Disease Impact, all P<0.05). Correlation analysis confirmed that poorer caregiver psychological resilience and worse family function were significantly associated with uncontrolled asthma. Conclusion: Poorer psychological resilience in caregivers and dysfunctional family dynamics are significantly associated with inadequate asthma control in children.
Summary
Keywords
Asthma, Caregivers, Child, Family Relations, psychological resilience
Received
23 December 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Limin Chen
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