Coping with information style and family burden: Possible roles of self-stigma and hope among parents of children in a psychiatric inpatient unit.

OBJECTIVE

Parents of children who are hospitalized in inpatient psychiatric units must cope with significant challenges. One of these challenges relates to the way in which they cope with illness-related information. The current study examined the relationship between two such coping styles - monitoring and blunting - and family burden among parents of children in a psychiatric inpatient unit. Moreover, the possible moderating roles played by hope and self-stigma in these associations were also examined.

METHODS

Questionnaires regarding coping with information style, self-stigma, hope and family burden were administered to 70 parents.

RESULTS

A main positive effect of hope and a main negative effect of self-stigma were uncovered. An interaction between self-stigma and monitoring was also revealed, suggesting that for parents with high self-stigma, compared to those with low self-stigma, more monitoring was related to more burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Tailoring family interventions according to coping style and self-stigma is highly recommended as a mean to reduce the family burden of parents whose child is hospitalized in a psychiatric inpatient unit.