Strengths in caregivers of children with pediatric feeding disorder: a scoping review.

Abstract

Objectives: This scoping review investigates the character strengths of caregivers of children with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD), which impacts 1 in 37 children under 5 years of age. Caregivers of children with PFD are at risk for poor mental health outcomes, but there is limited research on the unique strengths that caregivers develop or leverage to help navigate the stress of caring for a child with PFD.

Methods: The scoping review followed a standard framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines to analyze studies focusing on caregivers of children with PFD or feeding-related issues. Definitions of strengths were defined by the 24 character strengths framework, outlined in the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), which highlights positive traits of humans. A comprehensive search of four databases identified 1,174 articles, which were screened based on inclusion criteria, resulting in 11 studies.

Results: No studies directly investigated the strengths of caregivers as their primary outcome; however, multiple strengths were identified by coding strengths consistent with the VIA-IS across findings of the 11 included articles. Identified strengths highlighted caregiver resilience, with hope being the most frequent strength across studies.

Conclusions: Strengths can be protective factors of caregiver mental health. However, there is limited literature on the strengths in caregivers of children with PFD, and how they develop over time. A small number of studies have identified the presence of multiple strengths among caregivers of children with PFD, but more research is needed to understand how we can leverage strengths to improve caregiver and child resiliency.