Psychopathology and coping in parents of chronically ill children

Objective: To evaluate psychopathology and coping mechanisms in parents of children with a chronic illness. Methods: 30 parents whose children had Thalassaemia were randomly selected from the Thalassaemia Day Care Centre of a teaching general hospital. The parents were interviewed on a semi structured proforma and also rated on SCL-90-R and Mechanisms of Coping scales. The data was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The parents were seen to have high psychopathology on SCL-90-R. Depression was the subscale with the maximum elevation. Somatisation was also significantly elevated The GSI (General Symptomatic Index), a measure of general distress was extremely high in about 86.66% of the parents. Most parents were fatalistic in their approach towards the illness. Fatalism positively correlated with somatisation and depression. Avoidant coping strategies were associated with higher scores on various dimensions of the SCL-90-R. Conclusion: Chronic illness in children affects the psychological health of the parents. Active coping strategies are associated with fewer distress indices and thus if inculcated may improve the ability to bear the burden of the illness without becoming themselves affected by psychiatric illnesses.