Resilience and disruption in observed family interactions in youth with and without spina bifida: An eight-year, five-wave longitudinal study

Objective To examine differences between families of youth with spina bifida (SB) and families of typically developing (TD) youth on family-, parent-, and youth-level variables across preadolescence and adolescence. Methods Participants were 68 families of youth with SB and 68 families of TD youth. Ratings of observed family interactions were collected every 2 years at 5 time points (Time 1: ages 8-9 years; Time 5: ages 16-17 years). Results For families of youth with SB: families displayed less cohesion and more maternal psychological control during preadolescence (ages 8-9 years); parents presented as more united and displayed less dyadic conflict, and youth displayed less conflict behavior during the transition to adolescence (ages 10-13 years); mothers displayed more behavioral control during middle (ages 14-15 years) and late (ages 16-17 years) adolescence; youth displayed less engagement and more dependent behavior at every time point. Conclusions Findings highlight areas of resilience and disruption in families of youth with SB across adolescence.