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Influences of maternal support on children's coping during invasive medical procedures
Abstract
A cognitive model of appraisal and coping provided the theoretical framework for examining the influence of the child's chronic illness on the parent and the relationship of parental behavior on their child's adjustment to stressful events during hospitalization. This study was designed to investigate the relationship of multiple personal (i.e., age, coping style, and previous experience with hospitalization) and situational factors (i.e., parental beliefs, stress, and the availability of social support and financial resources) and their relation to parental support strategies and young children's coping behaviors during stressful events during hospitalization. These relationships were examined through the use of non-parametric procedures and a descriptive analysis. Sixteen mothers and their hospitalized preschool children with chronic illness participated in this study. Results indicate that the child-specific characteristic of experience with a central line or hospitalization did not have a direct association with child coping outcomes, but may instead play an important role in the child's appraisal of the stressful event. The mother's and child's primary and secondary appraisal of the situation was an important variable associated with subsequent child coping efforts. Differences in this appraisal process were related to the observed variability in responses. This study also provided insight to the predictive value of parental behavior on child coping. Both negative interactional strategies and lack of a "goodness of fit" between the maternal choice of interaction strategy and their child's coping style resulted in increased distress and lack of child coping responses. Less clear is the role of parental resources on parent support strategies. The results suggest that child behavior may moderate the influence of maternal beliefs on the interactional strategies mothers use with their child.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology|Personality|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology|Social psychology
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Barbara Jeanne, "Influences of maternal support on children's coping during invasive medical procedures" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9712514.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9712514