Paternal Involvement in the Management of Pediatric Chronic Diseases: Associations with Adherence, Quality of Life, and Health Status

OBJECTIVES: This article reports associations among paternal involvement in pediatric chronic disease management and child outcomes. METHODS: The Dads' Active Disease Support scale (DADS) and measures of treatment adherence, quality of life, health status, and health care utilization were obtained for youths with six chronic diseases, with complete data sets obtained from 190 couples. RESULTS: Paternal involvement was not associated with these outcomes among younger children. Among adolescents, mother-reported and father-reported DADS scores indicating more paternal involvement were associated with maintenance, rather than deterioration, of treatment adherence and more favorable quality of life. Youths' health status and health care utilization were not related significantly to paternal involvement. CONCLUSIONS: More paternal involvement was associated with more favorable adherence and quality of life among adolescents but not associated with health status or health care utilization. Longitudinal studies could verify whether paternal involvement merits clinical intervention.