Dispositional optimism, coping strategies and the emotional state of parents of children with nocturnal enuresis

Abstract

Introduction and objective: The subject of the article concerns the role of optimism in coping with stress and the emotions experienced by the parents of children suffering from nocturnal enuresis. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between coping strategies and emotions experienced by the parents of children with nocturnal enuresis, taking into account the moderating role of optimism. Materials and methods: The study included 70 parents of children experiencing nocturnal enuresis, who were patients of the Department of Paediatrics, Paediatric Nephrology and Allergology of the Military Institute of Medicine – National Research Institute in Warsaw. The participants completed a sociodemographic survey and questionnaires measuring the level of dispositional optimism (Life Orientation Test-Revised, LOT-R), strategies for coping with a stressful situation related to the child’s illness (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, CISS-S) and the level of positive and negative emotions (Skala Uczuć Pozytywnych i Negatywnych, SUPIN, S30 – Polish adaptation of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS). The results of the research partially confirmed the assumed hypotheses. Results: A relationship was found between the level of optimism and emotions, and the use of task-focused coping strategies. The relationship between the level of optimism and other strategies could not be confirmed. Also, it has not been proven that all stress coping strategies are associated with negative and positive emotions. Contrary to the assumptions, optimism did not moderate the relationship between coping with stress and emotions, except for one case, namely coping strategies focused on emotions and the level of negative emotions. Conclusions: The obtained results allow to conclude about the prevailing role of the situational context – the child’s illness over personality variables.