Children, Coping, and the Stress of Illness: A Synthesis of the Research

Abstract

purpose. To synthesize and critique the current research on coping strategies used by children who are ill, to identify gaps in the research base, and to provide direction for practice, future research, and theory development population. 32 research articles on coping strategies used by children with chronic or acute illness conclusions. Children's repertoire of coping strategies is the same during health and illness, although the frequency or effectiveness of some of the strategies is often different. practice implications. Much more in‐depth descriptive and longitudinal research is needed, particularly how, when, and why coping strategies are learned, retained, and later discarded. Research is needed to examine the relationship between coping and health outcomes, and on the effectiveness of nursing interventions designed to influence children's coping behavior.

Providing preoperative information for children undergoing surgery: a randomized study testing different types of educational material to reduce children's preoperative worries

“…In addition, the type of strategies that children use to cope with disease, hospitalization, and surgery might be relevant to predict children's worries about surgery. Coping is defined as the set of strategies people use to adapt to stressful situations [35,36] and adverse events [12,37]. The efficacy of preoperative preparation programs could be affected by the individual coping strategies [38].…”

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Perspective Connections between Coping and Play in Children

“…A review by Capurso and Pazzagli (2015) showed that out of 40 studies on coping in children, play was either disregarded or only considered as an avoidant or distracting activity. Additionally, a search for “play” in some of the most recent reviews and theoretical papers on coping and child development (i.e., Ryan-Wenger, 1992, 1996; Fields and Prinz, 1997; Losoya et al, 1998; Compas et al, 2001; Zimmer-Gembeck and Skinner, 2011, 2016), has not revealed any meaningful discussion of the term. Play is often not mentioned, or when it is, is only seen as an attempt by the child to distance themselves from the stressor or delay the need to face the situation.…”

Comparison of Coping Strategies in Iranian Adolescents with Cancer and Their Parents

“…Because there is a positive relationship between reaction to disease and consequences of the illness, it should be beneficial when coping behavior is more adaptive in nature (Wenger 1996). Coping can be described as the cognitive and behavioral strategies that individuals use to deal with different dimensions of stress (Folkman, 2001).…”