Study on the family hardiness and its influencing factors in children with leukemia

Abstract

Objective To investigate the current status of hardiness and its influencing factors in children with leukemia. Methods The children with leukemia and their caregivers in the Children's Hospital of Shanxi from August to November 2017 were enrolled. A questionnaire survey was conducted using a convenient sampling method, and 100 questionnaires were distributed. The questionnaire included the General Status Questionnaire, the Family Hardiness Index (FHI), the Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). Results A total of 92 valid questionnaires were collected. Among the scores of hardiness in children with leukemia [(3.29±0.43) points], the responsibility score [(3.32±0.45) points] was higher than the control score [(3.31±0.46) points] and the challenge score [(3.23±0.53) points], and the challenge score was the lowest. The score of frequency of coping styles used by the caregiver of the child with leukemia was (3.64±0.70) points, the most frequent coping style used by the caregiver was family unity, optimism, cooperative attitude [(3.73±0.89) points], and the positive [(3.28±0.84) points] and negative [(2.51±0.80) points] emotions were in a moderate state. The child's sex, age, stage of chemotherapy and medical insurance status, the caregiver of the child, the age of the caregiver, the family's place of residence, and the education level were the related factors affecting the hardiness score (all P < 0.01). The age of child, CHIP-1, CHIP-2, positive emotion and negative emotion were independent factors affecting the hardiness (all P < 0.05). The CHIP, CHIP-1, CHIP-2 and positive emotion were positively correlated with the hardiness (r values were 0.827, 0.883, 0.707 and 0.846, all P < 0.01); the negative emotion was negatively correlated with the hardiness (r=-0.832, P < 0.01). Conclusion The hardiness of children with leukemia is in the middle and upper level, the children's age, caregiver's coping style, positive emotion and negative emotion are factors affecting the hardiness. Key words: Leukemia; Child; Family hardiness; Influencing factors; Psychotherapy