OBJECTIVEIdentifying the stressors, coping strategies, and psychosocial state of children with chronic illness would be very useful to help them to adapt to chronic medical conditions. This study aimed to investigate the stressors, coping strategies, and psychosocial state of Chinese children with chronic illness.

METHODSTwo hundred and three children with chronic illness and aged 8-16 years were administered a semi-structured interview for the identification of stressors. Children's coping strategies and psychosocial state were investigated by the Coping with a Disease (CODI) scale, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) scale, and the Depression Self-rating Scale for Children (DSRSC).

RESULTSThe stressors in children with chronic illness mainly included four aspects: school performance, medication and treatment, daily life, and peer relationships. "Wishful thinking" was the most common coping strategy, followed by "acceptance". "Negative emotional reaction" was rarely seen in children with chronic illness. The scores of anxiety and depression scales of children with chronic illness were higher than those of the norm. The prevalence of anxiety disorders was 43.8%, the prevalence of depression disorders was 30.0%, and 26.1% of the children had both anxiety and depression disorders.

CONCLUSIONSChildren with chronic illness have many stressors. Though they usually use active coping strategies, the prevalence of anxiety disorders and the prevalence of depression disorders were high.