Hope and resilience in caregivers and families of children with chronic illnesses

Purpose: Understanding factors contributing to caregiver feelings of hope and family resilience in children with chronic illness can positively impact caregivers and children’s mental health and coping.

Methods: Participants were 45 caregivers (usually parents) of children with a chronic illness. Caregivers/parents were residing at a Ronald McDonald House while their child was undergoing a medical procedure. This presentation reviews information from a mixed methods study where interviews and a survey were used to assess views of coping for the family, themselves and their child.

Findings: Parents who completed interviews reported that social support, especially from family, and religion, served as key sources of hope. Additionally, they stated that knowing that other children in the family were with family and that the family was financially secure helped them to focus on being a source of strength for their child. A positive outlook for the future, on the part of the parents and their child, also were viewed as sources of strength. Parents also completed a survey assessing family coping, which yielded similar responses to the aforementioned themes. Caregiver responses indicated high resilience within the family during a very stressful period.

Implications: Study results have implications for positive psychology, showing that families move in a strengths-based direction. If the child also is spirited and finding ways to hope for the best and being “well” in the future a positive cycle ensues where positives reinforce each other strengthening both the child, parents, and the family unit.