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Factors Related to Caregiver State Anxiety and Coping With a
Child’s Chronic Illness
Laura A. Nabors, PhD
University of Cincinnati
Jessica C. Kichler, PhD
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Anne Brassell, BA
University of Vermont
Sunny Thakkar, BA
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jennifer Bartz, BA, Jordan Pangallo, BA, Bevin Van Wassenhove, BA, and
Heidi Lundy, BA
University of Cincinnati
The resiliency of families, based on family functioning and family hardiness, may
influence caregivers’ anxiety while their child is in the hospital undergoing treatment
for his or her chronic illness. The current study assessed the relationship among these
factors for caregivers of children with various chronic illnesses who were residing at a
local Ronald McDonald House (RMH). Caregivers completed paper-based question-
naires to assess family hardiness, functioning, and parent state anxiety and interviews
to identify positive and negative strategies and behaviors affecting how they were
coping with their child’s illness. Findings indicated that family functioning mediated
the relationship between family hardiness and caregiver anxiety as a resilience factor
that further reduced caregiver anxiety. During interviews, caregivers suggested that
support from family members strengthened their coping abilities. Negative interactions
with their child’s medical team and not knowing how or being equipped to help their
child live with his or her illness heightened caregiver stress. Future research should
focus on developing, implementing, and measuring the effectiveness of interventions to
improve caregiver support, such as by holding caregiver support groups at local RMHs,
especially during a child’s hospitalization.
Keywords: family resilience, caregiver anxiety
Hospitalization of children with medical con-
ditions can often be a traumatic and stressful
experience for caregivers, who may experience
significant anxiety and distress while their child
is hospitalized (Barakat & Alderfer, 2011;Cof-
fey, 2006). When a child with a chronic illness
faces treatment, caregivers may need to adapt
and cope with stress related to their child’s
treatment before they and their child can begin
to adapt to the medical illness itself (Kazak &
Barakat, 1997). Although there are individual
differences in caregiver adjustment (Wallander
Laura A. Nabors, University of Cincinnati; Jessica C.
Kichler, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cin-
cinnati, OH; Anne Brassell, University of Vermont; Sunny
Thakkar, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cin-
cinnati, OH; Jennifer Bartz, Jordan Pangallo, Bevin Van Was-
senhove, and Heidi Lundy, University of Cincinnati.
The authors thank Bevin Van Wassenhove, Amanda
Strong, and Halley Shipley for their assistance with data
collection. Great appreciation is extended to staff and par-
ents at the RMH of Greater Cincinnati.
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to Laura Nabors, Mail Location 0068, School of
Human Services, College of Education, Criminal Justice
and Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincin-
nati, OH 45221-0068. E-mail: naborsla@ucmail.uc
.edu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Families, Systems, & Health © 2013 American Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 31, No. 2, 171–180 1091-7527/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0031240
171
