Children with migraine and asthma: The role of the parent-child interaction

This study investigates whether in families in which a child suffers from migraine or asthma a specific parent-child-interaction style exists. The parent-child interactions in 20 families with a child suffering from migraine were compared with 20 families with a healthy child and 20 families with a child suffering from asthma. The families had to solve a puzzle within a limited time. In addition, slow cortical potentials (contingent negative variation, CNV) were recorded to examine the relationship between cortical information processing and family interaction patterns. The ANOVA shows that the parent-child interactions within families with migraine and asthma were asymmetric, revealing a disease-specific interpersonal communication/interaction style. Communication with the affected child with migraine was significantly more directive, with more specific instructions and less help towards the child suffering from migraine than towards the healthy siblings. Dominance of parents and submissive behavior of children were the main features observed. In asthma families interactions were more conflicting and less cooperative. The asymmetric interactions correlated with a higher level of cortical information deficit processing (dishabituation). The results underline the importance of systematic parental training in multimodal behavioral programs for these diseases.