This study deals with sibling emotional response to the stress of childhood cancer in a brother or sister. Sixty-two healthy siblings aged 9 to 18 participated in the study. The children were asked to complete self-report questionnaires on state anxiety, loneliness, and self-control. The findings showed that the stress elicited emotional responses. Anxiety was related to the child's age and duration of the sibling's cancer, and loneliness was related to the child's sex and rank in the family. The outcomes also demonstrated a link between self-control as a coping skill and anxiety and loneliness as emotional distress responses. Healthy siblings' higher self-control rates were associated with their lower anxiety and loneliness reports. These findings support Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory on stress, appraisal, and coping. The results also highlight the need to train and impart children with learned resourcefulness in order to increase their self-control skills and improve their coping with and adjustment to siblings' serious illness.

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AIDS has reached pandemic proportions and despite advances in medical treatment both the medical and social consequences of HIV-positive serostatus continue to be of concern throughout the world. In countries with greater access to antiretroviral therapy (ARV), HIV/AIDS it is no longer defined as fatal, but rather a chronic disease, thereby this study seeks to understand the experience of individuals living with HIV-positive serostatus, a multifaceted disease, from the time the infection is diagnosed through the four post-diagnosis years, and in particular its implications on the issue of disclosure. A qualitative analysis was conducted, based on 13 in-depth interviews with participants who are HIV-positive and the data was analyzed by inductive content analysis. The results identify six themes, four central elements that compose the experience of living with HIV: the emotional experience, the stigma attached to HIV, the inner dialogue, and disclosure. A three-phase coping process and personality differences were found, all of which will be discussed. The issue of disclosure was found to be cardinal and problematic in its impact on the patient's wellbeing.

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The present study deals with personal and psychological characteristics of addicts coping with abstinence from drugs in various stages of recovery. The study focuses primarily on two personal variables: attribution of responsibility for the problem and its solution, and the sense of coherence. Additional factors that were examined in the study are demographic variables, which include those related to drug addiction. The sample included 128 short-term abstinent patients in the early stages of recovery after detoxification, and 40 long-term abstinent former addicts, who have abstained from the use of drugs for two to eight years. The results indicate a higher level of sense of coherence among the long-term abstinent subjects relating to their inner resources. On the other hand, much similarity was found between the groups in relation to the attribution of responsibility variable. In both groups, the majority reports that they attribute responsibility for the solution of the problem to themselves. The findings underscored the significant link between personality variables and coping with the processes of recovery, while an analysis of demographic and addiction variables did not show a significant distinction between the group of long-term abstinent subjects and the short-term abstinent subjects.

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This article investigates spousal adjustment to a postmarital disability in one partner in relation to the personal, marital, and social aspects of the couple’s relationship. The study examines the differences between spousal adjustment to a spinal cord injury or a neurologically disabling condition of one partner, as well as the impact of gender on the situation. The study was based on a sample of 71 couples. The results revealed a positive correlation between the adjustment of both spouses to the disability situation and indicate significant differences between the adjustment of the disabled individual and that of the nondisabled spouse. The most interesting finding was that the nondisabled spouse reported a higher level of vulnerability in the marital relationship, in the sense of having a stronger fear of separation and a higher sense of dependency. With regard to gender, the results indicated that females were more anxious than males, while males engaged in more work/study activities. How these differences may relate to the defined roles of each partner is discussed.