Stress and coping in the siblings of children with cance.

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Title Stress and coping in the siblings of children with cance.
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Nursing
Department Nursing
Author Walker, Carolyn Louise
Date 1986-08
Description This study was developed from a clinical curiosity about what children do and think in an effort to cope with the stressors imposed on them since the diagnosis of cancer in their brother or sister. Theories on stress and coping were reviewed. Although none of the theories specifically addressed or researched the issue of stress and coping in children, the stress, appraisal, and coping theory described by researchers was selected for its comprehensive treatment of the subject. A review of the psychosocial literature on pediatric oncology revealed a number of studies identifying the stressors and stress responses (primarily maladaptive outcomes) for the siblings. There was a paucity of research on the actual coping efforts employed by children and no research on the appraisal process. The present study was designed to qualitatively explore the cognitive and behavioral coping efforts used by a selected sample of siblings of cancer patients in three different treatment phases (induction, remission, and relapse). Data were collected from parent interview, parent questionnaire, two sibling interviews, sibling cartoon storytelling, and a sibling Sentence Completion Test. All data were subjected to content analysis. The parent data identified themes of stress relating to anger, ambivalence, gratitude, and denial. Sibling data revealed major stressor themes of loss, fear of death, and change. Further, content analysis of sibling data pertinent to coping efforts led to the development of a taxonomy of cognitive and behavioral coping efforts. The taxonomy consisted of 6 domains, 12 themes, and 33 categories of coping efforts. The taxonomy is considered to be a tentative beginning for a line of investigations on the coping process in children. The results of this study support findings from previous studies which identified the sibling's major stressors. Coping efforts identified in three previous studies were also identified in this study. The findings from this study suggest that appropriate Nursing; interventions should be based on a thorough assessment of the individual's perspective of the illness experience. Future research needs to be designed to evaluate the entire process of stress, appraisal, and coping not just the separate parts of the process.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Adaptation, Psychological; Life Change Events
Subject MESH Child; Chronic Disease; Neoplasms
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name PhD
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of "Stress and coping in the siblings of children with cancer." Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. Print version of "Stress and coping in the siblings of children with cancer." available at J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collection. RC 39.5 1986 W34.
Rights Management © Carolyn Louise Walker.
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Identifier us-etd2,10908
Source Original: University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (no longer available).
ARK ark:/87278/s6w671cn
Setname ir_etd
ID 193447
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6w671cn
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