Differences between parents of constipated children and parents of controls
| Mothers | Fathers | |||||
| Mothers of children with functional constipation, N=116 | Mothers of healthy controls, N=84 | p-Value | Fathers of children with functional constipation, N=115 | Fathers of healthy controls, N=73 | p-Value | |
| Mean age (SD) | 40.2 (±5.8) | 40.0 (±5.8) | 0.810 | 43.1 (±6.1) | 41.5 (±6.1) | 0.081 |
| Caucasian, n (%) | 111 (95.7) | 77 (91.7) | 0.366 | 109 (94.8) | 73 (100) | 0.083 |
| Unemployed, n (%) | 19 (16.3) | 8 (9.5) | 0.209 | 6 (5.2) | 4 (5.5) | 1.000 |
| NEO-FFI | ||||||
| Raw scores (mean (SD)) | ||||||
| Neuroticism | 31.1 (8.1) | 28.2 (6.3) | 0.005* | 28.8 (8.1) | 27.6 (5.9) | 0.604 |
| Extraversion | 42.7 (5.8) | 43.1 (5.4) | 0.576 | 42.4 (6.5) | 42.7 (4.8) | 0.759 |
| Openness to experience | 36.0 (5.6) | 37.0 (6.0) | 0.249 | 35.2 (6.2) | 36.3 (7.0) | 0.271 |
| Agreeableness | 47.0 (4.6) | 47.3 (3.9) | 0.608 | 44.0 (5.3) | 42.9 (5.5) | 0.170 |
| Conscientiousness | 47.1 (5.1) | 46.5 (4.6) | 0.440 | 46.9 (6.2) | 46.5 (5.2) | 0.692 |
| Sex dependent norm scores (mean (SD)) | ||||||
| Neuroticism | 4.8 (2.0) | 4.1 (1.6) | 0.010* | 4.6 (2.0) | 4.6 (1.5) | 0.903 |
| Extraversion | 5.7 (1.8) | 5.8 (1.7) | 0.692 | 5.8 (2.1) | 5.9 (1.5) | 0.556 |
| Openness to experience | 4.9 (1.8) | 5.1 (1.8) | 0.413 | 5.0 (1.9) | 5.3 (2.1) | 0.327 |
| Agreeableness | 5.8 (1.8) | 5.9 (1.5) | 0.832 | 5.6 (1.9) | 5.2 (2.1) | 0.169 |
| Conscientiousness | 5.6 (1.9) | 5.5 (1.8) | 0.629 | 5.4 (2.1) | 5.3 (1.8) | 0.669 |
| Age dependent norm scores (mean (SD)) | ||||||
| Neuroticism | 5.0 (1.9) | 4.3 (1.6) | 0.008* | 4.3 (2.0) | 4.2 (1.5) | 0.761 |
| Extraversion | 5.5 (1.8) | 5.5 (1.6) | 0.828 | 5.5 (2.0) | 5.5 (1.5) | 0.830 |
| Openness to experience | 4.8 (1.8) | 5.0 (1.7) | 0.392 | 4.6 (2.0) | 4.8 (2.2) | 0.477 |
| Agreeableness | 5.9 (1.8) | 5.9 (1.5) | 0.858 | 4.8 (1.9) | 4.4 (1.9) | 0.125 |
| Conscientiousness | 5.5 (1.9) | 5.3 (1.8) | 0.428 | 5.4 (2.2) | 5.3 (1.9) | 0.620 |
| Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) | ||||||
| Raw scores (median (IQR)) | ||||||
| Somatisation | 0.14 (0–0.43) | 0.0 (0–0.3) | 0.053 | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.0 (0–0.1) | 0.014 |
| Obsessive-compulsive | 0.21 (0–0.5) | 0.17 (0–0.5) | 0.295 | 0.17 (0–0.5) | 0.17 (0–0.5) | 0.199 |
| Interpersonal sensitivity | 0.25 (0–0.75) | 0.25 (0–0.5) | 0.102 | 0.25 (0–0.5) | 0.25 (0–0.5) | 0.371 |
| Depression | 0.17 (0–0.5) | 0.0 (0–0.3) | 0.011* | 0.0 (0–0.5) | 0.0 (0–0.3) | 0.154 |
| Anxiety | 0.17 (0–0.5) | 0.17 (0–0.3) | 0.037 | 0.0 (0–0.3) | 0.17 (0–0.3) | 0.215 |
| Hostility | 0.2 (0.2–0.4) | 0.2 (0.2–0.4) | 0.044 | 0.2 (0–0.4) | 0.2 (0–0.4) | 0.877 |
| Phobic anxiety | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.103 | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.0 (0–0.0) | 0.082 |
| Paranoid ideation | 0.2 (0.2–0.6) | 0.2 (0–0.4) | 0.199 | 0.2 (0–0.4) | 0.2 (0–0.6) | 0.988 |
| Psychoticism | 0.0 (0–0.4) | 0.0 (0–0.4) | 0.065 | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.0 (0–0.2) | 0.465 |
| Overall score | 0.19 (0.1–0.4) | 0.15 (0.1–0.3) | 0.011* | 0.17 (0.1–0.3) | 0.15 (0.1–0.3) | 0.155 |
| Sex-specific norm scores (median (IQR)) | ||||||
| Somatisation | 4 (3–5) | 3 (3–4) | 0.018 | 4 (4–6) | 4 (4–5) | 0.023 |
| Obsessive-compulsive | 4 (3–4) | 3 (3–4) | 0.177 | 3 (3–5) | 3 (3–5) | 0.194 |
| Interpersonal sensitivity | 4 (3–5) | 4 (3–4) | 0.084 | 4 (3–5) | 3 (3–4) | 0.232 |
| Depression | 3 (3–5) | 3 (3–4) | 0.006* | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–5) | 0.194 |
| Anxiety | 3 (3–5) | 3 (3–4) | 0.059 | 3 (3–5) | 3 (3–3) | 0.072 |
| Hostility | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–5) | 0.052 | 4 (3–5) | 4 (4–5) | 0.710 |
| Phobic anxiety | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–5) | 0.281 | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–4) | 0.033 |
| Paranoid ideation | 4 (3–5) | 4 (3–4) | 0.154 | 4 (3–5) | 4 (3–5) | 0.623 |
| Psychoticism | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–5) | 0.168 | 4 (4–4) | 4 (4–4) | 0.816 |
| Overall score | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–4) | 0.035 | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 0.371 |
|
Physical Symptom Checklist (PSC) | ||||||
| Raw scores (median (IQR)) | ||||||
| Total PSC score† | 1 (0–4) | 0 (0–1) | 0.000* | 0.9 (0–2) | 0 (0–1) | 0.005* |
| % greater than sex-specific cut-off score for general population (>p75)† | 34 (29%) | 12 (14%) | 0.017 | 31 (27%) | 12 (16%) | 0.110 |
| No of symptoms on subscale (median (IQR)) | ||||||
| Autonomic | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.004* | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.022 |
| Neurological | 0 (0–1.8) | 0 (0–0) | 0.002* | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.401 |
| Musculoskeletal | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | 0.022 | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.972 |
| Gastrointestinal | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | 0.004* | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.027 |
| Warm/cold/urogenital | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.010* | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.133 |
|
Ghent Parental Behaviour Scale (GPBS) | ||||||
| Raw scores (mean (SD)) | ||||||
| Autonomy | 11.4 (2.0) | 11.6 (1.7) | 0.469 | 11.2 (2.1) | 11.5 (1.6) | 0.414 |
| Discipline | 18.4 (5.3) | 16.9 (3.5) | 0.029 | 17.7 (4.5) | 16.9 (4.2) | 0.279 |
| Positive parental behaviour | 47.2 (7.5) | 46.1 (5.5) | 0.298 | 43.2 (7.1) | 44.0 (5.4) | 0.440 |
| Harsh punishment | 4.5 (1.9) | 4.7 (1.8) | 0.579 | 4.7 (1.7) | 4.5 (0.9) | 0.222 |
| Monitoring | 16.8 (5.2) | 15.9 (4.7) | 0.282 | 13.4 (4.4) | 14.2 (4.3) | 0.213 |
| Teaching rules | 26.0 (4.2) | 25.8 (3.3) | 0.727 | 24.9 (3.9) | 24.6 (3.7) | 0.626 |
| Ignoring of unwanted behaviour | 6.5 (2.2) | 6.6 (2.5) | 0.595 | 7.1 (2.7) | 7.2 (2.6) | 0.891 |
| Material rewarding | 7.6 (1.9) | 7.4 (2.0) | 0.474 | 8.1 (1.9) | 7.5 (2.1) | 0.058 |
| Inconsistent discipline | 7.7 (2.4) | 7.9 (2.4) | 0.720 | 8.2 (2.5) | 8.2 (2.2) | 0.954 |
| Sex-specific norm scores (mean (SD)) | ||||||
| Autonomy | 3.1 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.8) | 0.518 | 3.0 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.7) | 0.116 |
| Discipline | 3.2 (0.7) | 3.0 (0.7) | 0.054 | 3.3 (0.7) | 3.2 (0.8) | 0.471 |
| Positive parental behaviour | 3.4 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.8) | 0.005* | 3.3 (0.8) | 3.3 (0.8) | 0.875 |
| Harsh punishment | 2.2 (0.6) | 2.4 (0.8) | 0.231 | 2.4 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.5) | 0.694 |
| Monitoring | 2.8 (1.1) | 2.8 (1.0) | 0.858 | 2.7 (0.8) | 2.8 (0.8) | 0.413 |
| Teaching rules | 2.6 (1.3) | 2.3 (1.2) | 0.101 | 2.7 (1.1) | 2.6 (1.0) | 0.512 |
| Ignoring of unwanted behaviour | 2.8 (0.5) | 2.9 (0.6) | 0.433 | 2.6 (1.0) | 2.7 (0.9) | 0.675 |
| Material rewarding | 3.0 (0.7) | 2.9 (0.8) | 0.233 | 3.2 (0.7) | 3.0 (0.8) | 0.088 |
| Inconsistent discipline | 2.7 (0.9) | 2.8 (0.8) | 0.453 | 2.8 (1.0) | 2.8 (0.9) | 0.970 |
*Difference p<0.01 between the constipation and control group.
†No of bothersome symptoms (often or regularly present during the previous week).
NEO-FFI, NEO-Five Factor Inventory.