Parent Adjustment to a Child’s Hospitalisation

Abstract

Hospitalisation of a child can be a very stressful experience, not only for the patient but also for the child’s parent(s). In fact, some parents of hospitalised children rate their own anxiety as higher than their child’s anxiety. The emotional state of parents can affect that of their child. Researchers have explained this process in terms of the emotional contagion hypothesis or crisis theory. However, further investigation is required to better understand the communication of emotion between child and parent. The factors underlying a parent’s vulnerability to emotional problems have received relatively little attention from researchers. The empirical studies that have been published suggest that key determinants of a child’s hospitalisation relate to how the parent appraises the hospital stressors that confront them (and their child) and how he or she evaluates the resources available to help cope with the situation. This indicates that research into parents’ beliefs about hospitalisation would be of benefit. Such investigation could assist in the identification of those who are at risk of poor adjustment and could lead to the development of interventions to improve parental adjustment and, as a consequence, help child patients to better cope.