Family functioning, hope, and quality of life of school-age children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Abstract
Utilizing the Disability-Stress-Coping Model, this study filled a major gap in the arthritis research focused on children by systematically measuring how school-age children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) live with this chronic pediatric disease and its impact on psychosocial development and family functioning. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the relationship between family functioning, hope, and quality of life in school-age children with JRA. Sixty-eight children, eight to twelve years of age, with a diagnosis of JRA and their parents were recruited for the study. Shriners Hospital for Children (Springfield, MA) and Connecticut Children's Medical Center (Hartford, CT) served as the two recruitment sites. Parents completed three survey instruments that included the Feetham Family Functioning Survey (FFFS), the Parent Report for Children Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) with the Parent Report for Children PedsQL Rheumatology Module. The children completed three survey instruments that included the Children's Hope Scale (CHS), the Child Report Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Child Report PedsQL Rheumatology Module. Data analysis included chi-square, t -tests and correlation analyses. Correlated t -tests were calculated to examine differences between child and parent report for the PedsQL Rheumatology Module, indicating no differences between groups. A low correlation between family functioning and children's hope was significant in a positive direction (r = -.35, p < .05). The research findings, implications for theory and instrument development, and implications for nursing practice and future research were presented.
Recommended Citation
Thomas William Connelly,
"Family functioning, hope, and quality of life of school-age children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis"
(January 1, 2003).
Electronic Doctoral Dissertations for UMass Amherst.
Paper AAI3096268.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3096268
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