Past Maternal Experience of Asthma, Childhood Morbidity, and the Psychosocial Impact of the Disorder

Both previous experience of asthma, either in person or in a close family contact, by the mother of an asthmatic child and the child's current morbidity may influence the psychosocial impact of the disorder. A questionnaire concerning prior asthma experience, current psychosocial impact, and morbidity was returned by the mothers of 124 young asthmatic children. Family communication was significantly worse in the past maternal contact group. There were significant trends between morbidity and family communication, emotional distress, and manipulation. No beneficial effect of previous experience of asthma on measures of psychosocial disturbance experienced by the mothers of asthmatic children was detected. Increased psychosocial disturbance was associated with higher morbidity from asthma in the child.