This study examined the relationships among social support, parenting stress, coping style, and psychological distress in parents caring for children with cancer. The hypothesis that coping style plays a mediating role between social support and parenting stress, and psychological distress was tested for both mothers and fathers. In total, 246 mothers and 195 fathers of 270 children participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis. The findings indicate that the hypotheses derived from the Roy adaptation model were supported for both mothers and fathers. A longitudinal study is suggested to examine the circular process of stimulus, coping process, and adaptation outcomes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting stress index/short form-manual. Charlottesville, VA: Pediatric Psychology Press.
2.
Arbuckle, J. L. (1995). Amos version 3.6. Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.
3.
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Quantitative methods in psychology: Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246.
4.
Chiou, A., Potempa, K., & Buschmann, M. B. (1997). Anxiety, depression and coping methods of hospitalized patients with myocardial infarction in Taiwan. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 34(4), 305-311.
5.
Chuang, H. L., & Yeh, C. H. (2001). Parents' personality, social support, stress response, and psychological response to their premature infant in a neonatal intensive care unit. Chang-Gung Nursing, 12(3), 220-233.
6.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159.
7.
Cole, D. A. (1987). Methodological contributions to clinical research: Utility of confirmatory factor analysis in test validation research. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 55, 584-594.
8.
Cuttance, P. (1987). Issues and problems in the application of structural equation models. In P. Cuttance & R. Ecobb (Eds), Structural modeling by example (pp. 241-279). New York: Cambridge University Press.
9.
Derogatis, L. R. (1983). SCL-90-R Manual-II. Baltimore, MD: MDL Clinical Psychometric Research.
10.
Fawcett, J. (1989). Conceptual models of nursing. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
11.
Fawcett, J., & Downs, F. S. (1992). The relationship of theory and research (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
12.
Groothenhuis, M. A., & Last, B. F. (1997). Adjustment and coping by parents of children with cancer: A review of the literature. Support Care Cancer, 5, 466-484.
13.
Hollingshead, A. (1958). Social class and mental illness. New York: John Wiley.
14.
Jöreskong, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1993). Lisrel 8 user's reference guide. Chicago: Science Software International.
15.
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
16.
Levesque, L., Ricard, N., Ducharme, F., Duquette, A., & Bonin, J. P. (1998). Empirical verification of a theoretical model derived from the Roy adaptation model: Findings from five studies. Nursing Science Quarterly, 11, 31-39.
17.
Marsh, H. W., Balla, J. R., & McDonald, R. P. (1988). Goodness-of-fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis: The effect of sample size. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 391-410.
18.
Meleis, A. I. (1991). Directions for nursing theory development in the 21st century. Nursing Science Quarterly, 5, 112-116.
19.
Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (1989). Psychiatric diagnosis as reified measurement. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 30(1), 11-40.
20.
Roy, C., & Andrews, H. A. (1991). The Roy adaptation model: The definitive statement. Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.
21.
Roy, C., & Andrews, H. A. (1999). The Roy adaptation model (2nd ed.). Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.
22.
Tseng, C. W. (1987). Stress perception and psychosomatic adaptation of mother with intelligent retard. Unpublished master's thesis, Tung Wu University, Taiwan.
23.
Yeh, C. H. (2001a). Development and testing of the parental coping strategy inventory (PCSI) with cancer children in Taiwan. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 36(1), 78-88.
24.
Yeh, C. H. (2001b). Religious beliefs and practices of Taiwanese parents of pediatric cancer patients. Cancer Nursing, 24(6), 476-482.
25.
Yeh, C. H, Chen, M. L., Li, W. J., & Chuang, H. L. (2001). The Chinese version of the parenting stress index: A psychometric study. Acta Paediatric, 90(12), 1470-1477.
26.
Yeh, C. H., Lee, T. T., Chen, M. L., & Li, W. J. (2000). Adaptational process of parents of pediatric oncology patients. Pediatric Hematology Oncology, 17(3), 119-131.
27.
Yeh, C. H., Lin, C. F., Tsai, J. L., Lai, Y. M., & Ku, J. C. (1999). Determinants of parental decision on drop out from cancer treatment for childhood cancer. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30(1), 193-199.
28.
Yeh, C. H., Tsai, J. L., Li, W. J., Lin, C. F., Li, S. C., & Yang, C. P. (2000). Use of alternative therapy among Taiwanese parents with childhood cancer. Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, 17(1), 55-65.
29.
Yuan, K. H., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Normal theory based test statistics in structural equation modeling. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 51, 289-309.
