Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

Worldwide, millions of children 5 years of age and older suffer with nocturnal enuresis, also known as nighttime bedwetting. Nocturnal enuresis is a chronic elimination disorder that while usually benign, too often results in the child being emotionally and physically abused. Efforts to design effective treatments with low relapse rates have thus far been thwarted by the array of organic and psychosocial variables related to its development. Guided by the 5-factor theory of personality, this cross-sectional study investigated whether a parent's personality characteristics significantly predict effective treatment for a child's nocturnal enuresis. Effective treatment was defined as having no relapses of symptoms in the 6 months following initial treatment success. A convenience sample of parents (n = 165) was recruited from the online social network Facebook and other online educational and support forums for parents seeking information on enuresis. Participants completed the NEO-FFI-3 to measure their personality characteristics, and logistic regression analyses were used to determine if parental personality characteristics, parental history of childhood enuresis, and/or the child's gender were significant predictors of effective treatment for a child's enuresis. None of these factors were found to significantly predict effective treatment for enuresis. This study promotes positive social change by identifying the need for an integrated biopsychosocial approach to treating children with enuresis with effective evidence-based treatments. These treatments are expected to result in fewer children exposed to the high rates of abuse and the development of psychosocial disorders often associated with nocturnal enuresis