title: Nepalese school-age children's self-reported fears and coping strategies related to medical experiences.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the fears of healthy Nepalese school-age children and their coping strategies relative to medical experiences. The sample consisted of 161 children from a private and a public school in Nepal. Consistent with cognitive developmental theory and coping theory, Nepalese school-age children were capable of reporting their fears of medical experiences and their coping strategies. Nepalese school-age children reported relatively moderate levels of fears and limited use of coping strategies. A significant difference was found between boys and girls self-reported fears (t=1.94, p=.05). There was no significant difference in children's fears based on the type of school attended. However there was a significant difference between public and private school children's report of frequently used coping strategies (t=4.10, p=. 000) and coping effectiveness (t=4.30, p=. 000). Nursing implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 180 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
authors.forename: Ganga
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mahat
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Scoloveno
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009390:Nepal; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D017149:Private Sector; D002666:Psychology, Child; D017150:Public Sector; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires