|
| Statements | Mean | SD |
|
| Financial burden (changes in the financial status of the family) |
| Additional income is needed in order to cover medical expenses | 3.64 | 0.57 |
| The illness is causing financial problems for the family | 3.60 | 0.63 |
| I am cutting down the hours I work to care for my child | 3.55 | 0.75 |
| Time is lost from work because of hospital appointments | 3.54 | 0.68 |
|
| Familial/social concerns (level of disruption of interaction within the family and outside the family) |
| Because of the illness, we are not able to travel out of the city | 3.70 | 0.56 |
| We have little desire to go out because of my child’s illness | 3.66 | 0.61 |
| Sometimes we have to change plans about going out at the last minute because of my child’s state | 3.66 | 0.60 |
| Sometimes I wonder whether my child should be treated “specially” or the same as normal child | 3.63 | 0.74 |
| Don’t have much time left over for other family members after caring for my child | 3.61 | 0.72 |
| I think about not having more children because of the illness | 3.56 | 0.71 |
| Our family gives up things because of my child’s illness | 3.54 | 0.76 |
| We see family and friends less because of the illness | 3.51 | 0.72 |
| People in the neighborhood treat us specially because of my child’s illness | 3.48 | 0.73 |
|
| Personal strain (psychological burden experienced by care giver of the child with cancer) |
| Nobody understands the burden I carry | 3.52 | 0.64 |
| Sometimes I feel like we live on a roller coaster: in crisis when my child is acutely ill, OK when things are stable | 3.49 | 0.66 |
| I live from day to day and don’t plan for the future | 3.40 | 0.74 |
| Fatigue is a problem for me because of my child’s illness | 3.31 | 0.74 |
| It is hard to find a reliable person to take care of my child | 3.19 | 0.76 |
| Travelling to the hospital is a strain on me | 2.40 | 0.65 |
|
| Mastery (coping strategy employed by the family) |
| Learning to manage my child’s illness has made me feel better about myself | 3.55 | 0.82 |
| Because of what we have shared we are a closer family | 3.48 | 0.90 |
| We try to treat my child as if he/she were a normal child | 3.43 | 0.89 |
| My partner and I discuss my child’s problem together | 3.38 | 0.91 |
| My relatives have been understanding and helpful with my child | 3.32 | 0.86 |
|
