Location

Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Lobby

Description

This thesis sought to analyze how parents communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, along with sub-concepts of the theory (i.e., appraisals, inferences, and illusions), this thesis sought to discover which coping mechanism (i.e., affect-management or buffering) would be chosen to manage the illness. Under UMT, appraisals were assessed, resulting in positive and negative appraisal, which indicated whether the individual handled the issue with either an inference based on general knowledge or illusion based on hopeful predictions. Based on the inference or illusion, a coping mechanism of either affect-management (i.e., faithism or disengagement), or buffering (avoidance or selective ignoring) is developed to cope with the illness. About 200 participants participated in this study via an on-line survey. The key concepts focused on participants’ indication about how they would react to a hypothetical scenario involving parent/child communication about pediatric cancer treatments.

Keywords

Adjustment (Psychology); Cancer in children; Cancer in children – Treatment; Communication in medicine; Parent and child

Disciplines

Communication | Health Communication | Interpersonal and Small Group Communication | Oncology | Pediatrics

Language

English

Comments

File: Poster

Attached file: Abstract


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Apr 15th, 1:00 PM Apr 15th, 3:00 PM

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized by Parents and Children when Dealing with Pediatric Cancer

Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Lobby

This thesis sought to analyze how parents communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, along with sub-concepts of the theory (i.e., appraisals, inferences, and illusions), this thesis sought to discover which coping mechanism (i.e., affect-management or buffering) would be chosen to manage the illness. Under UMT, appraisals were assessed, resulting in positive and negative appraisal, which indicated whether the individual handled the issue with either an inference based on general knowledge or illusion based on hopeful predictions. Based on the inference or illusion, a coping mechanism of either affect-management (i.e., faithism or disengagement), or buffering (avoidance or selective ignoring) is developed to cope with the illness. About 200 participants participated in this study via an on-line survey. The key concepts focused on participants’ indication about how they would react to a hypothetical scenario involving parent/child communication about pediatric cancer treatments.