Personal resources and posttraumatic growth of parents struggling with cancer disease of their child

Abstract

StreszczenieWstęp: Wśród uwarunkowań potraumatycznego wzrostu istotną rolę odgrywają zasoby osobiste. Podjęte badania miały na celu ustalenie, czy u rodziców zmagających się z chorobą nowotworową dziecka występują pozytywne zmiany potraumatyczne, oraz określenie, jaką rolę w tym procesie pełnią takie zasoby osobiste, jak poczucie sensu życia, duchowość i spostrzegane wsparcie społeczne. Materiał i metody: Analizie poddano wyniki 47 osób (87,2% stanowiły kobiety) w wieku 22-51 lat (M = 35,42, SD = 6,70) -rodziców chorych dzieci. W badaniach wykorzystano Inwentarz Potraumatycznego Rozwoju, Test Poczucia Sensu Życia, Kwestionariusz Samopoznania oraz Skalę Wsparcia Społecznego. Wyniki i wnioski: W badanej grupie rodziców wystąpiły pozytywne zmiany wynikające ze zmagania się z chorobą nowotworową dziecka. Blisko 45% badanych ujawniło wysoki poziom potraumatycznego wzrostu. Największe zmiany zaobserwowano w zakresie doceniania życia. Wszystkie analizowane zasoby były dodatnio powiązane, choć słabo, z potraumatycznym wzrostem. Szczegól-ną rolę w występowaniu pozytywnych zmian potraumatycznych należy przypisać duchowości. Rozwijanie zasobów u osób zmagających się z traumą może zwiększyć prawdopodobieństwo wystąpienia potraumatycznego wzrostu. AbstractIntroduction: Personal resources play an essential role among determinants of the posttraumatic growth. The study looks for positive posttraumatic changes occurring in parents struggling with cancer disease of their child and the role of personal resources, it is purpose in life, spirituality and perceived social support in this process. Material and methods: Results of 47 persons (87.2% women), aged 25-51 years (M = 35.42, SD = 6.70) who were the parents of sick children, were analyzed. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Purpose in Life Test, the Self-description Questionnaire and the Social Support Scale were used in the study. Results and conclusions: In the surveyed parents, positive changes occurred as a result of struggling with cancer of the child. Nearly 45% of respondents revealed high level of posttraumatic growth. The biggest changes were observed in appreciation of life. All the analyzed resources were positively associated, although weakly, with posttraumatic growth. A special role in the occurrence of positive posttraumatic changes should be attributed to spirituality. Developing resources, in people struggling with the trauma may increase the likelihood of posttraumatic growth.

Posttraumatic Growth and Spirituality in Mothers of Children with Pediatric Cancer

“…The higher the level of spirituality of the surveyed mothers, the more positive changes they experienced in coping with a difficult situation. This is consistent with the results obtained by other researchers [ 30 , 34 ]. Researchers note that spirituality has a profound impact on our beliefs and the meanings we give to different situations, so dealing with the relationship between spirituality and traumatic experience seems necessary fora fuller understanding of a person’s situation [ 35 ].…”

“…In total, 92.7% of the mothers had moderate or high levels of posttraumatic growth. The greatest number of positive changes was reported by mothers in the area of appreciating life, which is consistent with the results of studies involving parents of seriously ill children [ 30 , 39 ]. It is worth mentioning that the differences in spirituality between the group of mothers who experienced high posttraumatic growth and the group of mothers who experienced it at a low/moderate level concerned two subscales, harmony and ethical sensitivity, which may be another argument that these are areas that should be included in therapeutic interventions.…”

“…The aim of this study is to explore if mothers struggling with a child’s cancer experience posttraumatic growth and whether there is a relationship between spirituality and posttraumatic growth. Based on the previous research, we expect that in mothers of children who face a life-threatening disease, the most changes can be seen in the area of appreciating life [ 30 ]. We decided to focus our study on mothers because, as mentioned earlier, they experience higher levels of stress than fathers, and they usually play the role of the primary caregiver and accompany the child during hospitalization.…”

The need for social support and the health condition of parents of children with cancer

“…The level of support received from doctors and nurses is comparable [11]. A significant role in the demand for social support, which is associated with positive changes in self-perception, has been demonstrated in studies conducted among parents of children with cancer [12].…”

“…Poziom wsparcia otrzymywanego od lekarzy i pielęgniarek jest porównywalny [11]. Istotne znaczenie w zapotrzebowaniu na wsparcie społeczne, które wiąże się z pozytywnymi zmianami w zakresie percepcji siebie, wykazano w badaniach przeprowadzonych wśród rodziców dzieci chorych na nowotwory [12].…”