title: Mothers and fathers coping with their children's cancer: Individual and interpersonal processes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine individual and interpersonal processes of coping and emotional distress in a sample of mothers and fathers of children with recently diagnosed cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 317 mothers and 166 fathers of 334 children were recruited near the time of the child's cancer diagnosis or relapse (M = 1.4 months, SD = 1.2). Mothers and fathers completed standardized measures of coping and depressive symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses of individual coping responses revealed that, for both mothers and fathers, primary control coping (e.g., problem solving, emotional modulation) and secondary control coping (e.g., acceptance, cognitive reappraisal) were associated with lower depressive symptoms. Interpersonal analyses of coping and distress indicated that mothers' and fathers' coping as well as depressive symptoms were significantly correlated. Actor-partner interdependence model analyses indicated that mothers' coping was associated with fathers' depressive symptoms. Significant interactions also suggested that mothers' secondary control coping may have a compensatory effect against fathers' use of disengagement coping, both for themselves and their husbands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mothers' and fathers' adaptation to a child's cancer diagnosis and treatment are characterized by both individual and interpersonal processes, with secondary control coping playing a central role in both of these processes. Implications for interventions to enhance effective coping for parents of children with cancer are highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Compas
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bemis
authors.affiliation: Nationwide Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Madeleine J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Leandra
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Desjardins
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University.
authors.forename: Kristopher J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Preacher
authors.affiliation: Nationwide Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manring
authors.affiliation: Nationwide Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vannatta
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology