Children's Coping Research Articles

Developmental conditions of accommodative coping in childhood: The role of executive functions

The present study investigates the developmental conditions of accommodative coping in childhood (e.g., cognitive reappraisal, adjustment of goals or preferences, finding positive aspects in the negative). In particular, cognitive control processes, such as executive functions (EF, e.g., cognitive flexibility), are believed to serve as basic functions underlying cognitive reappraisal. The present study employed a latent neighbor change model to study the link between inter- and intra-individual differences in EF (tested at age 5.5, 6.0 and 8.0) and accommodative coping at age 8.0 (N = 196). Two instruments testing accommodative coping processes during childhood were used (i.e., situational accommodative coping and parental assessment of dispositional accommodative coping). The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) was used to investigate the relationship between EF in early childhood and accommodative coping. Negative relations between the baseline level and change in EF with the degree of accommodative coping were found, suggesting that processes of adjustment of goals or preferences at the age of 8 years are associated with lower executive functions.

The effects of recovery techniques taught to children after trauma experience on the coping strategies

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of the recovery techniques training program on children's coping strategies. This research was conducted in a state middle school in Turkey during the educational year of 2016-2017. Both the experimental and the control groups consisted of 12 students. In this research nonequivalent control group model of quasi-experimental design was used. For the students in the experimental group, a recovery training program was applied once a week for eight weeks. No training was provided for the students in the control group. 'Child Postraumatic Stress Reaction Index” and “Kidcope” were used to collect the data in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for the significance of the difference between pretest and posttest scores. According to the findings obtained; the recovery training program applied to children was effective in increasing active coping scores and in reducing the avoidant coping and negative coping. Article visualizations:

Childhood depressive symptoms during the transition to primary school in Hong Kong: Comparison of child and maternal reports

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in children's depressive symptoms using CES-DC depression scale during the first year of primary school in Hong Kong, as well as examine similarities and differences in the results as a function of rater—mother versus child. Children from two primary schools were studied—one primarily serving higher SES families and one primarily serving lower SES families. Children showed high levels of depressive symptoms at the beginning of primary school in both schools. Six year old children (N = 99, 55% were male) in the two schools showed different patterns of change over time. Mothers did not appear to recognize the changes in their children's depressive symptoms, reporting high levels of depressive symptoms in their children at each time point, showing no changes in depressive symptoms over time. Mother and child ratings of depressive symptoms showed a low positive correlation (similar in size to correlations found in studies of older children in Western samples), and in general, mothers reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in their children than did their children. Based on the findings, implications for future studies and early intervention services for strengthening young children's coping strategies during the transition to primary schools are discussed.

Fear and Coping in Children 5–9 years old Treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - A Longitudinal Interview Study

PurposeThe aim of this study was to describe the fears of 5- to 9-year-old children related to having acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and their strategies for coping with those fears. Design and methodsThe study had a qualitative descriptive longitudinal design and included a total of 35 interviews with 13 children at three different times during their treatment period. Data were analyzed using a matrix-based method inspired by the work of Miles et al. ResultsInitially, most children reported a fear of needles, but during the treatment period, fewer children reported this fear. Children's coping strategies also changed over time, as they wanted more involvement and control during needle-related procedures. Other fears were having adhesive tapes removed, having a nasogastric tube, and taking tablets. During the treatment period, existential fears related to the seriousness of ALL and its consequences, such as having impaired physical fitness and being different from before and different from others, became more prominent and caused feelings of loneliness and alienation. ConclusionsThe children described various fears through their treatment period, which they coped with using cognitive, emotional, and functional strategies. Over the 2.5-year period, their strategies changed. Practical implicationsBecause fears changed over time and varied among these different children, each child must be approached individually and attentively in every encounter.

Leaving footprints, not scars: a qualitative pilot study of Hispanic mothers' willingness to communicate with dependent children about an advanced cancer diagnosis.

US Hispanics are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer as parents than their non-Hispanic white counterparts but little is known about Hispanic parents' willingness to discuss a terminal cancer diagnosis with dependent children, potentially resulting in suboptimal child coping. Therefore, we investigated Hispanic mothers' willingness to communicate with dependent children about her actual or hypothetical advanced cancer diagnosis. Two focus groups (n= 6 participants) and three one-on-one interviews (n= 3) were conducted in either Spanish or Englishamong adult, Mexican-American mothers with a current cancer diagnosis of any stage residing in US-Mexico border communities. Participants reported their perceived concerns, parenting challenges, and openness to discussing an incurable cancer diagnosis with a dependent child. Audio files were transcribed into English and qualitatively coded using content analysis. Participants, most with breast cancer, ranged in age from 25 to 47. Five had considered the possibility of their own death from advanced cancer and three had previously discussed this with their children. While many expected their children would carry on well without them, seven expressed concern for the emotional/spiritual well-being of their children. Mothers anticipated physical and time-based parenting challenges but wanted the opportunity to focus on themselves and their children in advance of death. All but one would be willing to discuss an advance cancer diagnosis with dependent children; four expressed the value of doing so or the potential harm of abdicating this responsibility. If faced with an advanced cancer diagnosis, Mexican-American mothers are open to communicating with dependent children.

Middle-Aged Children's Coping Strategies With Tensions in the Aging Parent-Child Tie.

Middle-aged children may cope in different ways with interpersonal tensions with their aging parents. This study examined coping strategies as a function of parent's age and disability and children's emotions (i.e., guilty feelings and worry). Middle-aged children (N = 378) reported coping strategies when encountering interpersonal tensions with each of parents (N = 482): engagement, acceptance, avoidance, and confrontation. Middle-aged children also indicated how guilty and worried they felt about each parent. Multilevel models indicated that middle-aged children were most likely to use engagement and acceptance strategies, followed by avoidance, and least likely to use confrontation. Results also revealed that middle-aged offspring were more likely to use engagement toward their parents who were older and acceptance toward parents with more disabilities. Furthermore, when middle-aged children had stronger feelings of guilt toward parents, they were more likely to be avoidant and less likely to engage with parents. Worries about parents were positively associated with the use of engagement strategies.

Impact of Parental Acute Psychological Distress on Young Child Pain-Related Behavior Through Differences in Parenting Behavior During Pediatric Burn Wound Care.

Pediatric burn injuries and subsequent wound care can be painful and distressing for children and their parents. This study tested parenting behavior as a mediator for the relationship between parental acute psychological distress and child behavior during burn wound care. Eighty-seven parents of children (1-6-years-old) self-reported accident-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), pre-procedural anxiety, general anxiety/depression symptoms, and guilt before the first dressing change. Parent-child behavior was observed during the first dressing change. Mediation analyses identified three indirect effects. Parental PTSS predicted more child distress, mediated through parental distress-promoting behavior. Parental guilt predicted more child distress, mediated through parental distress-promoting behavior. Parental general anxiety/depression symptoms predicted less child coping, mediated through less parental coping-promoting behavior. Parents with accident-related psychological distress have difficulty supporting their child through subsequent medical care. Nature of parental symptomology differentially influenced behavior. Increased acute psychological support for parents may reduce young child procedural pain-related distress.

Životni događaji i strategije prevladavanja stresa kod učenika sedmog razreda osnovne škole

Stressful life events can range from everyday frustrations and conflicts to real traumas that can have profound consequences upon adolescents such as death of a close person, parents' divorce or war occurrences, etc. What particular consequences would stressful life events have for psycho-physical state of an individual depends, to a large extent, upon the strategy he uses in a concrete stress situation (Lackovic-Grgin, 2000). In this research project, conducted upon a sample of 100 of the seventh grade schoolchildren, a correlation between stress, measured by the Life Events Stress Scale - STRESS - D (Kosta, Vulic-Prtoric, 2002) and individual strategies for overcoming them as expressed by the Children's Coping Strategies Checklist-Revision 1 (CCSC-R1) (Ayers, et al., 1996) is explored. The most stressful life events, in children's views, are physical changes due to growing up, death of a close cousin, accusation for something they have not done, elders' distrust and shaming before others, while the coping strategies are expressed through four factors, namely: active coping, distraction, avoidance of situation and support seeking. The statistical analysis has shown that the most important correlations are between a stressful event, death of a close cousin and active coping (r=.321; p<0.01), that is support from others (r=.326; p<0.01) as well as between shaming before others and avoidance (r=.328; p<0.01), that is, support seeking (r=.317; p<0.01). The results tell us that the experience of stressful events and coping strategies possess certain characteristics that are peculiar for the schoolchild of higher elementary school grades.

Improving stress coping and problem-solving skills of children in disaster-prone area through cooperative physical education and sports lesson

The present study examined the effect of cooperative games in physical education (PE) and sports classes on the stress coping and problem-solving skills, and the relationship between these skills. The fifteen elementary schools in the volcano disaster area were assigned to the intervention and two control groups. The intervention group received PE and sports lessons with cooperative games while the control groups completed PE and sports lessons consistent with each school’s existing curriculum over 28 weeks. The stress coping and problem-solving skills scales, previously developed for use with students, was implemented before and after the program. Two- and one-way analysis of variance and paired sample t-tests were used to compare the three groups, and a Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between skills at pre- and post-test. The analysis showed a significant increase in stress coping and problem-solving skills in the intervention group over two control groups and a high positive relationship between these skills was in the post-test of the intervention group. T he PE and sports lessons with cooperative games could effectively promote both students’ stress coping and problem-solving skills.

‘Cos I’m a Survivor’

In post-war Finland thousands of children experienced poor upbringing, neglect and abuse, and had to deal with their experiences without social support from adults. In this article we study how difficult and bitter experiences related to childhood crises are remembered, reinterpreted and reframed in later life and in contemporary Finland. As research material we use both oral and written reminiscences of childhood in the post-war years collected in the period 2014–2016. We argue that in the recollections of difficult childhood coping and resilience emerge as major narrative themes. Although informants in their childhood were forced to suffer in silence, they remember themselves as being resilient and capable of surviving in adverse environments. In their late adulthood public collection of childhood memories has offered them a suitable medium to remember and reframe their experiences as meaningful, by exposing the ‘culture of silence’ which prevailed in the post-war Finland.

Parental Depressive Symptoms and Parenting: Associations with Children’s Coping in Families of Depressed Parents

SYNOPSISObjective. This multi-method study examined parental depressive symptoms and levels of harsh/intrusive and warm/responsive parenting as correlates of secondary control coping (acceptance, cognitive reappraisal, distraction) in children of parents with a history of depression. Design. The sample included 165 parents with a history of major depressive disorder and their 9- to 15-year-old children. Parents provided self-reports of their current depressive symptoms; videorecordings of parent–child interactions were coded to determine parenting behaviors; and children reported their use of secondary control coping strategies. Results. Harsh/intrusive parenting related to less, and warm/responsive parenting related to greater, use of secondary control coping strategies in children. Parents’ current depressive symptoms were only conditionally related to children’s use of secondary control coping strategies, such that depressive symptoms moderated the relation between warm/responsive parenting behaviors and child secondary control coping. When parental depressive symptoms were low or average, warm/responsive parenting was positively related to children’s secondary control coping. When parental depressive symptoms were high, warm/responsive parenting was not associated with children’s secondary control coping. Conclusions. The association between positive parenting behaviors and children’s coping is contingent on current levels of parents’ depressive symptoms. Efforts to enhance children’s coping skills should target both parental depressive symptoms and parenting skills.

Development and validity of the Burns-Child Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale (B-CAMPIS) for young children

BackgroundYoung children are at increased risk of burn injury and of procedural distress during the subsequent wound care. There are currently few observational measures validated for use with young children during medical procedures. The aim of this research was to adapt the Child–Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale-Revised (CAMPIS-R) to assess parent-young child interactions during burn wound care by including nonverbal behavioral coding. MethodEighty-seven families of children (1–6years old) were recruited at their first burn dressing change. Potential behaviors were identified through a literature review, consulting health professionals, and direct observation of parents and children during burn wound care. Nonverbal behaviors were coded live, and verbal behaviors were audio recorded for later assessment. ResultsInter-coder reliability was good to excellent for the Burns-CAMPIS (B-CAMPIS). The additional behaviors were correlated with the hypothesized coping, distress, coping-promoting and distress-promoting categories of the CAMPIS-R. Some behaviors differed in frequency across child age groups, with older children demonstrating more verbal behaviors. Convergent validity was demonstrated through correlations with previously validated observational parent–child behavior measures, and parent– and nurse– reported measures of child pain and anxiety. Univariate regression analyses demonstrated the child categories of the B-CAMPIS accounted for equal or more of the variance of parent– and nurse– reported child pain and anxiety, compared to the CAMPIS-R. ConclusionsThe B-CAMPIS is a reliable and valid measure, for assessing coping and distress relationships in young children and their families. Pending further validation, the B-CAMPIS assists researchers and clinicians to recognize and target important behaviors to improve young child coping during pediatric burn wound care.

Physician perceptions of children's coping with asthma are associated with children's psychosocial and disease functioning.

Low-income, ethnic minority children disproportionately face poor asthma control, and poorly controlled asthma is related to psychosocial difficulties. This study assessed physician reports of coping in child patients and examined associations between physician reports of child coping and parent and child reports of children's coping, psychosocial, and asthma outcomes (asthma-related stress, emotional and behavioral problems, asthma control, and school missed due to asthma). Physicians reported on coping in their patients (N = 67) ages 5-17 with asthma. Parents reported on child coping, asthma-related stress, emotional and behavioral problems, asthma control, and school missed due to asthma. Children ages 9-17 provided self-reports. Physicians' reports of primary control coping (e.g., problem solving) and secondary control coping (e.g., cognitive restructuring) were not associated with parent ratings of corresponding coping strategies, but physician reports of disengagement coping (e.g., avoidance) were correlated with parent reports of disengagement and secondary control coping. Physician perceptions of higher child primary control, and lower disengagement, were correlated with less parent-reported stress, better asthma control, and for primary control, fewer partial days of school missed. Physician reports were not correlated with child reports of coping, but physician reports of disengagement were correlated with child-reported conduct problems. Findings suggest that physician reports of child coping provide independent information from parent and child reports of coping, and could be leveraged to identify and intervene with patients who are at elevated risk for poor outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

虐待問題を抱える母子の生活支援における「多次元葛藤」 : 支援者の経験的側面からみた子ども虐待の状況特性

虐待問題を抱える母子の生活支援における「多次元葛藤」 : 支援者の経験的側面からみた子ども虐待の状況特性

Sibling-Controlled Study of Parental Bonding, Coping, and Urgent Health-Care Use in Families With Children With Nonepileptic Seizures.

Pediatric psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is a functional somatic symptom condition with significant health-care service burden. While both family and individual factors play an important role in the development and maintenance of PNES, little is known about what predicts urgent health-care use in families with children who have PNES. The aim of the current study was to explore whether child coping and parental bonding styles influence the decision to seek urgent medical care in these families. Data were analyzed from youth of age 8-18 years, 47 with PNES, and their 25 sibling controls. Parents provided the number of youth emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the preceding year. Youth completed a questionnaire about their coping styles and a measure about their mothers' and fathers' bonding styles. Using a mixed model with family as a random effect, we regressed urgent health-care use on participant type (youth with PNES or sibling), parental bonding style, and youth coping style, controlling for number of child prescription medications. Higher urgent health-care use was associated with having PNES, coping via monitoring, and perceiving one's father to be rejecting and overprotective. Lower urgent health-care use was associated with coping via venting and with perceiving one's mother to be caring and overprotective. This study provides preliminary empirical support for family-based clinical efforts to reduce child urgent health-care use by enhancing effective child coping skills and improving parental response to child impairment and distress in families with youth with PNES.

Managing discomfort and developing participation in non-emergency MRI: Children's coping strategies during their first procedure

IntroductionBuilding on existing work, this paper aims to develop a detailed analysis of the practical coping strategies developed by children who had not previously experienced an MRI, regarding a non-emergency examination of the brain. MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 22 children, aged between eight and sixteen years, were conducted immediately post-procedure. Emergent data were thematically analysed in line with the core precepts of Grounded Theory, and triangulated against interview data with their parents where pertinent. ResultsThe primary concern among interviewees related to how they had coped with the discomfort of an unfamiliar medical procedure; this was recurrently managed through a process herein termed Participation Development. This comprised three phases. The first, preparative participation, describes the children's reported attempts to ready themselves for the examination (with parents) ahead of arriving in hospital. The second, enabling participation, describes how the children (with input from parents and radiographers) endeavoured to understand what was to come, and select viable distraction techniques. Finally, sustaining participation describes the children's reports of actualizing their preparations during the examination itself. Where the overall process of participation development was successful, the children reported a sense of mastery, growth and even joy. ConclusionWhile much work in the domain portrays children as relatively ‘passive’ agents during an MRI procedure, the findings herein point to how they can (with varying degrees of success) actively and constructively work with others. This, it is contended, has direct import for the improvement of support, both prior to and within a procedure itself.

Pengaruh Intervensi Peer Group terhadap Kemampuan Koping Anak yang Menghadapi Abuse dan Neglect

The purpose of this research to assess the influence of the peer group on coping abilities of teenagers who face abuse and neglect. Design studies used Quasi experiment. The population was children aged adolescents at high school, which was potentially facing abuse and neglect, in East Jakarta. The methode of sample selection was purposive sampling, determination of sample selection methdos have been due to a case of child abuse is a case that does not come to the surface/an iceberg phenomenon, so that a relatively small number reported. Methodes of data collection using questionnaires that have been tested. The results showed no significant effect of group therapy activities against child coping skills in the face of abuse and neglect (p value=0,019). The implications of this study can give an idea of how carers can provide care to children potentially exposed to violence and neglect, especially in school and can be input for health services, especially in health centers School health programs in designing the program in anticipation of or prevention of abuse and neglect in children school environment. This program provide feedback on the guidance counselor to develop a counseling program using a model of peer group. For the future studies it is advisabled to involve the parents as respondents.

Does interparental conflict decrease following changes in observed parenting from a preventive intervention program?

Interparental conflict, which is common among families where a parent has a history of Major Depressive Disorder, is associated with deficits in parenting. Models of family functioning propose that interparental conflict and parenting behaviors are transactional in nature. Given the interdependent nature of family systems, increases in positive parenting practices may lead to subsequent decreases in interparental conflict. The current study was a secondary analysis of data from a preventive intervention to improve parenting, child coping skills, and child behavior in families with a history of parental depression. We hypothesized that increases in positive parenting strategies would be associated with decreases in interparental conflict 12 months later. Results supported the study hypothesis. Findings underscored the interdependent nature of parent-child and parent-parent subsystems.

ДІАДНИЙ БАТЬКІВСЬКО-ДИТЯЧИЙ КОПІНГ В УМОВАХ СІМЕЙНОГО СТРЕСУ

The article substantiates the importance of studying dyadic parental and child coping, examines the theoretical approaches to the determination of dyadic coping in the context of the child’s defense system, describes the main types of dyadic coping, reveals the concept of family stress.

Adolescent Coping Strategies in the Emergency Department.

The objective of this study was to describe coping mechanisms used by adolescents during emergency treatment. A convenience sample of adolescent patients (aged 12-18 years) was surveyed in our large (87,000 annual visits) urban academic pediatric emergency department (ED) with an adapted Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences survey. Parents were surveyed about their perceptions of their child's coping mechanisms. Participants were excluded if they were non-English speaking, in police custody, had altered mental status, or were hemodynamically unstable. Of the 123 adolescents approached, 93 participated (response rate, 76%) and 80 completed the survey (completion rate, 86%). Sixty percent were female, and the mean (SD) age was 15 (2) years. Most respondents were non-Hispanic black (62%). Adolescents presented for acute complaints (48%); chronic worsening problems (33%); and injury from an accident or assault (19%). While in the ED, 62% felt safe, 56% reported boredom, and 94% felt supported by their parents. Adolescents reported that listening to music (82%), sleeping (76%), and focusing on getting better (75%) would minimize their stress in the ED. A total of 50 parents completed the survey. There was 79% agreement between parents and adolescents regarding adolescents listening to music to cope in the ED. There was 72% agreement between parents and adolescents in regard to parental support. In this urban ED, parental involvement and listening to music were the most common coping strategies adolescents used during an ED visit. Attempts to improve patient-centered care should address opportunities for parental support and mechanisms for adolescents to listen to music.