Parental coping with childhood cancer and its relationship with self-construal: A survey in southeast Iran

Abstract

Background: Childhood cancer is a major challenge for parapets. Parents are one of the main sources of emotional support for their child, but their ability to provide proper care during their child's illness and treatment depends entirely on the way they manage to cope with diagnosis and its outcomes. Parents' coping pattern seems to be affected by their perception of themselves or their surroundings. Aim: To investigate parents' coping strategies with childhood cancer and its relation with self-construal. Methods: A total of 127 eligible parents participated in this descriptive correlational study. Results: Medical, social support, and family strategies were respectively helpful for parents. The interdependent self-construal score was higher than the independent self-construal score. A significant relationship was found between interdependent self-construal and social support (P =.01). Discussion: It seems that individualists and collectivists' cultural context influence the usefulness of coping strategies. These differences should be considered in training of coping strategies.