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Cross-informant agreement between adolescents with myelomeningoceleand their parents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2006

Kathleen J Sawin
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Melissa Hayden Bellin
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA.
Elizabeth Builta
Affiliation:
Potomac Pediatrics, Woodbridge, USA.
Laura Vasel
Affiliation:
Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Constance F Buran
Affiliation:
Ambulatory Administration, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Timothy J Brei
Affiliation:
Developmental Pediatrics, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
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Abstract

The development of self-management skills by adolescents with myelomeningocele is an ongoing process. Previous studies lack consensus about what data can be accurately obtained from adolescents. This cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of 66 adolescent–parent dyads evaluated whether adolescents with myelomeningocele and their parents are interchangeable reporters of data. Adolescents' ages ranged from 12 to 21 years with a mean of 16 years 2 months (SD 2y 8mo); 38 were female, 28 were male; 30% had thoracic lesions, 32% had lumbar lesions, 15% had lumbosacral lesions, 23% had sacral lesions, and 85% had ventriculoperitoneal shunts. In this analysis, participants reported activities (decision-making, household responsibility, and friendship activities) and select outcomes (functional status, self-management, and social competence) similarly. However, differences emerged in reports of beliefs (adolescent future expectations, family variables) and select developmental competencies (school, job, athletic, behavioral, attractiveness, and romantic appeal). Analysis using t-test and interclass correlations supported a pattern of adolescent–parent agreement in areas of observable behavior and differences in more subjective domains such as perception of developmental competencies.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
2006 Mac Keith Press

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