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Differences in anxiety and depression between male and female caregivers of children with a disorder of sex development

  • Cortney Wolfe-Christensen EMAIL logo , David A. Fedele , Larry L. Mullins , Yegappan Lakshmanan and Amy B. Wisniewski
Published/Copyright: May 23, 2014

Abstract

Purpose/Background: To examine whether male and female caregivers of children with a disorder of sex development (DSD) differ in levels of anxious and depressive symptoms.

Materials/Methods: Participants included 80 caregivers (40 males, 40 females) of 40 children with a DSD. Children were categorized based on illness characteristics including ambiguous genitalia, life-threatening, and life-threatening with ambiguous genitalia. Caregivers completed measures of anxious and depressive symptoms.

Results: A significant caregiver×diagnosis interaction for anxious symptoms emerged, with male caregivers of children with both ambiguous genitalia and a life-threatening condition reporting significantly lower levels of anxious symptoms than female caregivers of the same children.

Conclusions: The findings are surprising because of the low level of anxious symptoms reported by male caregivers of children with a complex DSD. It is possible that they have disengaged themselves from the child and/or diagnosis, causing their female counterparts to take on more responsibility.


Corresponding author: Cortney Wolfe-Christensen, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Department of Pediatric Urology, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201, USA, Phone: +(313) 745-5588, Fax: +(313) 993-8738, E-mail:

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Received: 2014-2-26
Accepted: 2014-4-1
Published Online: 2014-5-23
Published in Print: 2014-7-1

©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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