A Review: Perspectives of Iranian mothers with cerebral palsy child about family coping Download PDF

Introduction: The child with cerebral palsy is a serious challenge to families. It is essential to determine coping style adopted by these families. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess family coping and its dimension in Iranian mothers with cerebral palsy children and the relationship between demographic characteristic and family coping. Materials and method: This was a descriptive study on 208 mothers with cerebral palsy children who referred to seven rehabilitation centers in Kermanshah, Iran. The subjects were selected through convenience sampling. The instruments were the demographic characteristics and family crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales. The data was analyzed in SPSS (v16). Results: The mean age of mothers was 32±6.4 years and mean age of children was 59±3.75 months. The mean family coping score was 97±16.80. Reframing and passive appraisal were the most and least common strategies used in the families from the mothers’ viewpoint. Age, job, education, type of cerebral palsy had no significant correlation with family coping. Conclusion: Assessment of family coping is important and useful for the development of nursing intervention aimed at facilitating family adaption in families with a child with cerebral palsy.