Abstract
The presence of a father has been positively associated with outcomes in several aspects of a child’s life, including health. However, studies have shown that limitations on a child's health may reduce father child closeness. Fathers today are stepping out of the traditional role, but for the most part they still continue to play a secondary role to mothers, when it comes to a child’s healthcare. Numerous studies have been done focusing on how the child and the mother as the primary caregiver, respond to the stresses of parenting a child with a long term illness; however, studies looking solely at fathers are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine coping processes used by fathers in response to parenting a chronically ill child. The study also examined how perceived child severity of illness relates to the father’s coping methods. The sample consisted of 54 fathers of chronically ill children from low-income families seen in specialty clinics of a public program in a small urban community serving 8 rural counties. Based on the results, fathers used the coping process of positive reappraisal more often than any other coping process. There was no significant association between the fathers’ perceived severity of illness for the child and how effectively they cope with parenting a chronically ill child.
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