Abstract
Objectives: Sense of coherence as a resource of resilience is closely associated with health and well-being. The present study examined whether parents of sick children/adolescents differ from parents of healthy children/ adolescents in regard to their sense of coherence. Additionally subsamples from parents whose children suffer from different chronic illnesses or mental health problems were compared with each other. Interrelations between the sense of coherence and neuroticism were examined.
Methods: Results of the Heidelberger Sense of Coherence Questionnaire and the Scale for Neuroticism from the Trierer Integrative Personality Inventory of mothers and fathers (n=441) of chronically sick children and children with mental health problems were compared to those of a control group (n=174).
Results: Mothers of the clinical overall sample showed a significantly lower sense of coherence than mothers of healthy children. In fathers no such differences were found. No significant differences between different types of illness could be identified. Correlations between sense of coherence and neuroticism were between r = −0.50 and −0.75.
Conclusion: It seems that through the child's illness the mother's sense of coherence is negatively affected. Parents, especially mothers of seriously ill children should therefore be offered psychological-psychotherapeutical and/or psychosocial support.
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