Causation in cerebral palsy: Parental beliefs and associated emotions.
Renée Smyth, Susan M Reid, Kate Paton and 3 others
PMID 37415350WHAT IT FOUND
Parents who thought lack of oxygen, brain damage or medical intervention during birth caused their child's CP were more likely to report anger and confusion. 92% said it was important to understand the cause.
Key findings
01Most parents endorsed lack of oxygen during birth as a possible cause of CP (81%), and 36% believed it contributed to their own child's CP.
02Parents who attributed their child's CP to birth factors such as lack of oxygen, brain damage or medical intervention were more likely to report anger, and medical intervention was linked to confusion.
0392% of parents said understanding the cause of their child's CP was important, and parents of children aged 1 to 6 years were more likely to call it very important.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 226 of 1683 invited families responded, and participants had higher education and socioeconomic status than non-participants, so the results may not represent all families of children with CP. Most participants were mothers (199 of 226), and fathers and caregivers were few, so parental views may not be balanced. Non-English-speaking families were excluded, limiting cultural and language diversity. The study used a simple 1 to 5 emotion scale rather than a standardized measure of parental adjustment, grief or trauma. The survey reports associations between beliefs and emotions, not whether a belief causes an emotion or whether explaining causes changes feelings. Stage 1 used only biological mothers, and stage 2 excluded known postneonatal causes, so findings do not cover all families or all causes of CP.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. The supplied text does not report author conflict-of-interest declarations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that giving parents a causal explanation will reduce anger or confusion. The study reports associations between parents' beliefs and emotions, not a tested intervention.