Nguyen Sylvia, Pertini Mark, Kettler Lisa
School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia Department of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Australia
Department of Psychological Medicine, Women's and Children's Hospital, Australia.
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2015 Jan;20(1):20-38. doi: 10.1177/1359104513494089. Epub 2013 Jul 12.
Management of childhood epilepsy places significant demands and increased stress on the family unit. How parents adjust to this illness-related stress is believed to be shaped by their cognitive appraisals of the situation and the coping behaviours that are employed (Wallander & Varni, 1992). We investigated the cognitive and behavioural strategies that regulated psychological symptomatology in mothers following an epilepsy diagnosis of their child. Twenty-one mothers participated in this qualitative study. Interview data was analyzed using theory-driven thematic analysis. The analysis revealed common effective cognitive appraisals that include maintaining a positive outlook, re-structuring expectations and finding meaning from their experiences. Problem-solving, emotional venting, time to self and speaking with parents in similar situations were behaviours that buffered against carer strain. The coping strategies identified in this study can be seen as sources of resilience and therefore provide a guide for improving parent outcomes in the context of pediatric illness. Implications for clinical services are discussed in this paper.
儿童癫痫的管理对家庭提出了重大要求，并增加了家庭压力。父母如何应对这种与疾病相关的压力，被认为是由他们对情况的认知评估以及所采用的应对行为所塑造的（瓦兰德和瓦尔尼，1992年）。我们调查了在孩子被诊断出患有癫痫后，调节母亲心理症状的认知和行为策略。21位母亲参与了这项定性研究。访谈数据采用理论驱动的主题分析法进行分析。分析揭示了常见的有效认知评估，包括保持积极的心态、重新调整期望以及从自身经历中寻找意义。解决问题、情绪宣泄、给自己留出时间以及与处于类似情况的父母交流，这些行为缓解了照顾者的压力。本研究中确定的应对策略可被视为恢复力的来源，因此可为改善儿科疾病背景下的家长状况提供指导。本文讨论了对临床服务的启示。
