Understanding Parental Anxiety in the Context of Craniosynostosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding Parental Anxiety in the Context of Craniosynostosis: The Impact of Coping, Social Support, and Decision-Making
IRAS ID
364553
Contact name
Megan Montgomery
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford, Research Governance, Ethics and Assurances
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 2 days
Research summary
Craniosynostosis is a condition where a baby’s skull bones fuse too early, which can lead to increased pressure on the brain and an unusual head shape. It can often be treated with surgery and this is typically offered during the first year of the child’s life. Caring for children with craniosynostosis can be a challenging experience for parents, including during this period when they need to make a decision about surgery, but few studies have looked into this. This study aims to find out whether mothers of children with craniosynostosis (MCCS) are more or less anxious when compared with mothers of healthy infants of the same age. The impact of social support, decision-making and coping on the anxiety of MCCS will also be explored. MCCS will be recruited through the Oxford Craniofacial Unit and a control group of mothers of similarly-aged infants will be recruited through word of mouth and posters, as well as online. Participants will complete questionnaires about anxiety, how they cope, how supported they feel socially, how they cope with uncertainty when making certain decisions and how they cope with difficulties. They will also be asked for key details about them and their child. By exploring the levels of anxiety experienced by MCCS compared to mothers of healthy infants, as well as some of the factors that may influence the anxiety MCCS experience, we develop better ways to support MCCS and guide how services work with families of children with craniosynostosis.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/WM/0064
Date of REC Opinion
20 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion