Depression And Anxiety In Mothers Of Children With Cancer And How They Cope With It: A Cross-Sectional Hospital Based Study In Eastern India
- Author:
Kaberi Bhattacharya
;
Sumita Pal
;
Rudraprasad Acharyya
;
Gargi Dasgupta
;
Prathama Guha
;
Arunima Datta
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Depression;
Anxiety;
Mothers of Children with Cancer;
Coping Mechanism;
India
- From:ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry
2016;17(1):1-8
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective: Cancer is a chronic, long-term illness that affects not only the child
but also the family as a whole. The family faces objective as well as subjective
difficulties, e.g. stress, anxiety and depression. The burden is often experienced
by mothers, since they take on the major responsibility of care giving. We
conducted a study in mothers of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL) and determined whether their coping mechanisms were acceptable and if
these mechanisms were helpful to reduce depression. Methods: Mothers of 58
children with Pre (precursor) B cell leukemia were evaluated using Beck's
depressive inventory (BDI), Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP), and
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: Coping with behaviors used by
mothers of children with ALL was ineffective. The mothers mostly used coping
behavior, which involved family life and relationships, and the parents' outlook
on life of the affected child. The use of CHIP sub scale-type I, ie.“talking with
other individuals/parents in my same situation” was significantly related to
more use of sub scale-type II, ie. “doing things together as a family, involving all
members of the family” are both were significantly related to STAI (p < 0.001).
However total BDI score was not significantly related with any of the coping
scores (BDI scores more than 9). Patients with higher BDI scores had lower
scores in all sub scales of CHIP. Conclusions: Our subjects did not use social
support and did not understand the medical situation through communication
with other parents, or medical professionals. Fewer depressed patients used
more coping skills. Educating the parents about healthy coping mechanism can
be a good way to reduce stress. Encouraging social support networking and
providing information about the disease may help to increase the acceptance
among the mothers with ALL. A
- Full text:P020160211043778345198.pdf
