A longitudinal study of pubertal timing, parent-child conflict, and cohesion in families of young adolescents with spina bifida

Objective: To study longitudinal associations between perceived pubertal timing and family conflict and cohesion during the transition to adolescence in 68 families of children with spina bifida and 68 matched families with able-bodied children. Children were 8 or 9 years old at Time 1 and 10 or 11 years old at Time 2. Methods: Family conflict and cohesion were assessed with observational data and maternal, paternal, and child reports on questionnaires. Perceived pubertal timing was assessed with maternal report. Results: Consistent with the literature on typically developing young adolescents, prospective longitudinal analyses revealed that early maturity was associated with higher levels of conflict and decreases in cohesion in families with able-bodied children. Contrary to these findings, perceived pubertal timing had less of an impact (or the opposite impact) in families of children with spina bifida. Findings were robust across respondents and methods of data collection. Conclusions: Findings based on multimethod and multisource data suggest that familial response to developmental change differs across context (spina bifida vs. able-bodied). Possible reasons for differential responses to the adolescent transition are reviewed. Services are likely to be enhanced if health professionals routinely discuss adolescent developmental issues with parents and youths during clinic visits.