Background: Families of high risk infants are more likely to experience family dysfunction. Little is known about the pattern of family function, resources, coping and distress over time. Objective: To determine the pattern of change in family function, resources, coping and distress, as reported independently by mothers and fathers, over the first year following the birth of a sick newborn; and to determine the relationship among them.Design/Methods: Longitudinal design. Participants: 200 two-parent families of infants who required intensive care at birth were recruited from a regional tertiary centre. Information was obtained through well validated questionnaires at 4 points: In the NICU, and at 3, 6, and 12 months (mo) post-discharge. Of the 200 families recruited, there were 44 (22%) drop-outs over the length of the study; and 4 had incomplete data for a final sample of 152. Data analyses were based on analysis of variance with repeated measures.Results: Most changes occurred in the time period from NICU to 3 mo: 1) both mothers and fathers showed a significant decline in family function (p<.0001); 2) mothers showed a significant decrease in resources (p=.03); and 3) both mothers and fathers showed a significant decrease in distress scores (p<.0001). With respect to the relationship between family function and three independent variables (family coping, resources and distress), there were significant interactions for fathers between time and resources ((p<.0001). There was only one significant change from 3 to 6 mo: fathers showed an increase in resources (p=.04).Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant change in the pattern of family function, resources and distress for both mothers and fathers in the first year following the birth of a sick newborn, with all but one change occurring from NICU to 3 mo. The relationships between family function, and resources and coping were complicated by interaction effects with time.
