Coping strategies in parents of children with cancer

Abstract

It aims to determine the coping strategies used by parents of children with cancer. We used a research methodology, that is both group-based (self-help groups) and qualitative (discourse analysis of participants in group sessions). The sample is composed of 14 parents whose children contracted the disease more than two years before. There is evidence that parents use a variety of strategies to meet the challenge of disease of their children. Some are active: problem solving, adapting to circumstances and calm, courage, reflection, affect regulation, searching for information, seeking and acquiring social support, instrumental, informational and/or emotional, reappraisal or cognitive restructuring, positive thinking, and distraction. Others are passive: rumination, escape/avoidance, and social withdrawal. Knowledge of these strategies is useful to professionals of education to understand the reactions of parents, to communicate and interact with them and for family counseling.