The Effects of Family Coping and Family Resources on Family Adjustment and Parental Stress in the Acute Phase of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Experience 1101

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of family coping and family resources with family adjustment and parental stress in the acute phase of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience. This study also identified the coping strategies used by mothers and fathers to manage the stress of having their infant admitted to the NICU. The theoretical basis of the study was the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation. The setting for this study was a 36-bed tertiary level NICU that is the referral center for a section of a province in central Canada. Following IRB approval data were collected from 124 mother and father pairs who consented to participate in the study. Each parent independently completed a set of questionnaires within 2-4 days of their infant's admission to the NICU. Study instruments included: the State Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (parental stress outcome), the Family Inventory of Resources for Management (family resources variable), the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (family coping variables), the General Functioning subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device (family adjustment outcome), and two questionnaires designed for this study (parent and infant demographic variables). Analyses for the study included descriptive statistical tests, a measure of internal consistency, calculation of R 2, and hierarchical linear regression modelling.This study found that adequate family resources were more strongly related to positive family adjustment and parental stress than either family coping or being a first-time parent. Although family coping was generally not strongly related to either family adjustment or parental anxiety, reframing was statistically significant for both parents in its relationship to parental stress. Some differences in the relationships among study variables did occur between mothers and fathers, but generally the relationships among the variables were the same for both parents. Mothers and fathers reported some differences in the coping strategies they used. Mothers utilized more strategies than fathers in the categories of acquiring social support, seeking spiritual support, mobilizing family to acquire and accept help, and passive appraisal. The results of this study confirmed those from previous research that the experience of having an infant in the NICU is stressful for parents and it is more stressful for mothers than for fathers.