Influence on Siblings as a Result of Children's Hospitalization and Mother's Rooming-in: Focus on Siblings' Positive Change

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the positive behavioral and emotional of siblings', through the perception of their mother's (N=201), during the child's hospitalization and mother were rooming-in. Free-descriptions with a questionnaire survey concerning positive changes in siblings were analyzed according to the technique of the content analysis of Krippendorff (2004). The age of the siblings was 6.5+/-3.7 (M± SD) with a range of 0 to 19, the male and female ratio was approximately 6 : 4, the age of mothers was 34.6 ±4.7, that of hospitalized children was 3.9 ± 3.4, and duration of hospitalization was 26.6 ± 56.3, 6.0, 1-341 (M±: SD, Mdn, Range). There were 368 textual units extracted from 201 descriptions concerning siblings' positive change were abstracted into 93 codes, and then the codes are sorted into 26 sub-categories. Finally, from the underlying meanings of the sub-categories, 5 themes, [grasp of the present], [emotional change and maturity], [change and increase in positive behavior], [increase control and restraint in emotion] and [increase in independent behavior] were formulated from siblings' positive change. The formal test produced reliability coefficients of 87.3% and 86.3% in percent agreement and .84 in Krippendorff's alpha from the researcher and two pediatric nursing scholars. Tough negative feelings like feeling hard, loneliness or anxiety, siblings are also acquired positive changes through the adversity of children's hospitalization and mother's rooming-in. It is important to accept and appreciate the states, through noticing those of siblings' positive change. Paying attention to appearance with siblings' positive changes will make possible to improve self-efficacy, and relieve any negative change of the siblings'.