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Subject: Maternal Reports of Raising Children With Chronic Illnesses:The
Prevalence of Positive Thinking
From: "John Reiss" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001 11:04:11 -0400
X-Message-Number: 1

Thought the following abstract would be of interest.
The whole article is available on the Web at:

http://ampe.allenpress.com/ampeonline/?request=get-document&issn=1530-1567&v
olume=001&issue=02&page=0104

(Be sure to paste the whole URL in to you web browser if you want to
access the whole article)
John Reiss

Abstract
Maternal Reports of Raising Children With Chronic Illnesses:The Prevalence
of Positive Thinking

by
Robin G. Chernoff, MD, Deborah G. List, MA, MPH, CHES, Katherine A. DeVet,
PhD, and Henry T. Ireys, PhD

Published in
Ambulatory Pediatrics: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 104–107





Objective.—To examine maternal reports of the positive impact and
potential benefits of a child's chronic health condition.

Design and Methods.—A total of 190 mothers and their children with chronic
illnesses, including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes
mellitus, and asthma, were recruited from 12 specialty or general
pediatric clinics in Baltimore, Md. Standardized interviews were conducted
with the mothers and included demographics, condition-related variables,
and positive aspects of raising a child with a chronic condition.

Results.—Eighty-eight percent of the mothers felt better about themselves
by learning to manage their child's chronic condition; 70% felt that their
families were stronger because of their child's condition; and 80% felt
that their family had benefited in some way from having a child with a
chronic illness. Ninety-eight percent of the mothers endorsed at least 1
positive item; 58% endorsed all 3.

Conclusions.—Asking mothers about the positive impact on a family of a
child's chronic illness captures an important part of the experience of
caregiving. Physicians' recognition and encouragement of this positive
outlook may help families continue to face the challenges of raising a
child with a chronic illness.

Beth the OT

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