Five coping styles in families of children with cancer: a retrospective study in thirty families.
This retrospective study concerned the coping behavior of 30 children with cancer and their families. Fifteen families with children who were considered "cured" and 15 families with children who had died of their disease were questioned in partly structured interviews. In accordance with the coping model of Lazarus, the following five different styles of coping by the family were identified: experiencing the disease as challenge, as probation, as misfortune, as fate, and as punishment. The evaluation of patient's, parents', and siblings' attitudes toward the disease and the treatment allows early predictions of their coping behavior. The criteria of the classification of coping styles are described and the implications of their prognostic value for medical compliance are discussed.
Petermann
F
F
Department of Psychology and Pediatrics, University of Bonn, West Germany.
Bode
U
U
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires