The Association of Parental Coping and Childhood Injury

Objectives Injuries are the leading cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality in the United States. Interaction between child, parent and environmental factors may contribute to injuries. This study investigates the association between coping with parenthood and injuries in children age 0–5 years. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we analyzed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, a random-digit-dialing, nationally-representative telephone survey. Information was obtained from a caregiver about children 5 years of age or younger. Parental coping with the demands of parenthood was categorized into three groups—“very well”, “somewhat well” and “not very well” or “not very well at all”. Injury was defined as caregiver report of any injury within the previous 12 months that required medical attention. Results This study included 27,471 surveys about children 5 years of age or younger. With weighted analysis, 10.4 % of children were reported to have an injury; 31.1 % of caregivers reported coping with parenthood “somewhat well” and 1.7 % reported coping “not very well”/“not very well at all”. The adjusted odds ratio of sustaining an injury was 1.26 (95 % CI 1.00, 1.59) for children of parents who reported coping somewhat well with the demands of parenthood compared to those with parents coping very well. Conclusions Parental report of coping with parenthood less than very well was associated with injury in children ages 0–5 years, further highlighting the importance of the interaction between parent factors and childhood injury.