STRESSORS AND COPING STRATEGIES DESCRIBED DURING HOSPITALIZATION BY CHRONICALLY ILL CHILDREN

Compared chronically ill with acutely ill/injured children on types of stressors encountered during hospitalization, the coping strategies used to manage these stressors, and the relation between coping strategy use and distress. There was no difference between the acutely ill/injured and chronically ill groups in type of hospital problems selected-illness related (e.g., ''my disease is getting worse''), pain related, or hospital related (e.g., lack of privacy). Acutely ill/injured children were more likely to use avoidant-coping strategies (e.g., distraction, self-blame, and wishful thinking) than chronically ill children. Coping strategies did not differ across the different types of hospital problems. However, the greater the distress generated by the problem, the more frequent use of selected-coping strategies (e.g., problem-solving, social support, and wishful thinking). Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.