Parental psychopathology in children with inflammatory bowel disease - a pilot study results

Background: There are very little literature data available on the prevalence of personality disorder in parents of children and adolescents suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of parents meeting the criteria for a particular personality disorder according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders. Methods: The study included 36 parents of children and adolescents (aged 7-18 years) with inflammatory bowel disease. Results: Half of the parents of children with inflammatory bowel disease scored at or above the threshold of diagnostic criteria for a particular DSM-IV disorder on Axis II, mainly obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Overall, rigidity and inflexibility about morality were the most frequent obsessive-compulsive personality disorder criteria. Conclusion: Parental personality factors play an important role in the context of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, although the question remains whether it is influencing or being influenced by the disease. As this study was cross-sectional, we cannot say with certainty if the obsessive-compulsive personality disorder features occur with a high prevalence in parents of children with inflammatory bowel disease as a result of carrying for a child with a chronic disease, or they are a maintaining or even precipitating factor in the frame of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.