Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on July 18, 2007
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(10):1259-1263; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsm055
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Brief Report: Illness Intrusiveness and Adjustment among Native American and Caucasian Parents of Children with Juvenile Rheumatic Diseases
1Oklahoma State University, 2University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 3Medical University of South Carolina, and 4Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nicole Andrews, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 215 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: nicole.andrews{at}okstate.edu.
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Objective To investigate cognitive appraisal–adjustment relationships in Native American (NA) and Caucasian parents of children diagnosed with juvenile rheumatic diseases. Methods NA (n = 16) and Caucasian (n = 24) parents completed measures of disease status, illness intrusiveness, and adjustment; the rheumatologist provided estimates of disease severity. Results Hierarchical regression analysis revealed a moderating effect for racial group membership on the illness intrusiveness–parent adjustment relationship. Specifically, parent-perceived illness intrusiveness was more closely related to poorer adjustment among NA parents relative to Caucasian parents. Post hoc tests indicated that illness intrusiveness was significantly associated with poorer adjustment in NA parents, but was unrelated to parent adjustment in the Caucasian sample. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of examining racial group differences in cognitive appraisal–adjustment outcome relationships. Results are discussed with respect to the need for incorporating cultural issues into pediatric chronic illness research and treatment.
Key words: illness intrusiveness; juvenile rheumatic disease (JRD); Native Americans; parent adjustment.
Received September 20, 2006; revision received May 31, 2007; accepted June 7, 2007