Parent–child behavioral interactions during pediatric immunizations in a Latino sample.

Abstract

A number of studies have found that specific parent behaviors are strong predictors of child medical procedural distress or coping. These findings have informed treatment protocols to lower children’s distress during invasive medical events. However, the vast majority of this research has been conducted on predominately North American, English-speaking, Caucasian samples. One growing population that faces healthcare disparities is Latinos living in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to explore the types and frequencies of parent and child behavior, as well as the association between parent behavior and child distress and coping in a sample of Spanish-speaking Latino-American parent-child dyads. Nineteen 4- to 6-year-old Latino children receiving routine immunizations and their parents were video recorded, and behaviors were coded with commonly used schemes. The findings suggest that there may be differences in Latino parent and child behavior when compared to the extant – predominately English-speaking, Caucasian North American – literature. This study provides an initial examination of how cultural constructs may relate to parent-child behavior in Spanish-speaking Latino families in the U.S. Future research is warranted as findings can inform culturally sensitive clinical practice.

Parents’ Time Perspective as a Predictor of Child’s Postsurgical Pain, Emergence Delirium, and Parents’ Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms after Child’s Surgery

“…In further studies it would be important to also examine the relevance of cultural aspects in the relationship between parents' characteristic and behaviour and children's pain and stress during stressful medical procedures. Researchers emphasise the role of cultural dimension in explaining the expression of pain and distress, the reaction of adults to children's pain and distress, and the use of strategies to cope [57]. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to check the level of psychological flexibility of the parent as a possible mediator of the relationship between parental time perspective and children's postoperative distress [58].…”