Maternal Reports of Raising Children With Chronic Illnesses:The Prevalence of Positive Thinking
Section snippets
Sample
Children ages 7–11 years with sickle cell disease, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and moderate-to-severe asthma and their mothers were identified and recruited through 8 specialty clinics and 4 general pediatric clinics in Baltimore, Md. Attempts were made to contact all potentially eligible families from each clinic. A total of 566 households were identified. Of these, 174 (31%) could not be contacted. Of those contacted (N = 392), 74 (19%) were excluded because 1) the family lived outside a
RESULTS
Eighty-eight percent of the mothers reported feeling better about themselves by learning to manage their child's condition. Seventy percent of the mothers reported feeling that their families were stronger because of their child's condition, and 80% reported feeling that their family had benefited in some way from having a child with a chronic illness. Ninety-eight percent of the mothers endorsed at least 1 positive item, 83% endorsed 2 or more positive items, and 58% endorsed all 3.
Of the
DISCUSSION
Most mothers who participated in this study indicate that raising a child with a chronic illness does have a positive impact on their own and their family's lives. They reported feeling better about themselves by learning to manage their child's condition, that their families were stronger, and that their families had benefited because of the condition. Ninety-eight percent of all the mothers endorsed at least 1 of our indices of positive impact.
Our analyses suggest that compared with mothers
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This investigation was supported by grant MCJ-240804 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act, HRSA, DHHS).
The authors thank the project interviewers and all of the parents who graciously participated in this effort.
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