Letter to the editor regarding “Antecedents of mental health in parents of individuals born with ARM: The association between illness representations, negative and positive coping, and depressive symptoms”

jpedsurg.org

The article by Magnavacca et al. [1], “Antecedents of Mental Health in Parents of Individuals Born with ARM: The Association Between Illness Representations, Negative and Positive Coping, and Depressive Symptoms,” deserves high appreciation for its significant contribution to understanding the psychological mechanisms influencing the mental health of parents of children with congenital conditions, particularly anorectal malformations (ARM). By applying the Common-Sense Model of Illness Self-Regulation (CSM), this study offers a comprehensive examination of how illness representations—especially perceptions of threat and control—interact with coping strategies in predicting depressive symptoms among parents.

jpedsurg.org shows its articles on its own site.

Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗

Article · Nov 2025 · 1 min read

In brief

This letter discusses research examining psychological factors affecting parents of children with anorectal malformations (ARM). The study applies the Common-Sense Model to explore how parents' illness perceptions and coping strategies influence their risk for depression, offering insights into the mental health challenges faced by families managing congenital conditions.

Illness representations (threat/control perceptions) significantly influence parental mental health in ARM cases
Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation provides framework for understanding parental psychological adaptation
Coping strategies mediate the relationship between illness perceptions and depressive symptoms in ARM parents
Targeting illness representations may improve mental health interventions for parents of children with congenital conditions

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.

Read it at the source ↗