Work

The Role of Sociodemographic Factors in Family Resilience of Chinese Children With Chronic Illnesses: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The growing global burden of paediatric chronic illnesses underscores the need to investigate the sociodemographic factors of family resilience, which is a vital adaptive mechanism for long-term health management. Therefore, this study evaluated the variations in family resilience across sociodemographic factors and identified clusters to guide tailored clinical interventions. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to examine 1217 dyads of parents and children (aged 1-17 years) with chronic illnesses. The Chinese version of the Family Resilience Scale and a questionnaire developed by the authors were used to evaluate family resilience and sociodemographic factors, respectively. Data were analysed using linear regression to identify the effects of sociodemographic factors on family resilience. Hierarchical clustering was applied to identify clusters based on sociodemographic factors, and Bonferroni correction was used to compare differences in family resilience between the identified clusters. RESULTS: Three following clusters were identified: (1) families with low parental education, low family income and predominantly endocrine diseases (27.7%); (2) families with high parental education, high family income and predominantly cardiovascular diseases (11%) and (3) families with moderate parental education, moderate income and predominantly respiratory diseases (61.3%). Cluster 2 had the highest level of family resilience (M = 3.72, SD = 0.19), whereas Cluster 1 had the lowest level of family resilience (M = 2.67, SD = 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: Family resilience in children with chronic illnesses varied significantly across different clusters of sociodemographic factors. Paediatric healthcare teams can support families and children in developing healthy coping mechanisms and provide customised interventions tailored to their sociodemographic status.

Source: Child Care Health and Development

DOI: 10.1111/cch.70173