Parents' emotion socialization beliefs moderate relations between parent and patient coping, but not sibling coping, with pediatric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated (a) differences in parents' emotion socialization (ES) beliefs for patients/siblings, (b) whether parents' ES beliefs predict patient/sibling coping, and (c) whether parents' ES beliefs moderate links between parent and patient/sibling coping with pediatric cancer. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of 134 pediatric cancer patients, their caregiver, and their nearest-age sibling. Participants could complete measures themselves via paper-and-pencil or telephone, or researchers could read questions aloud. RESULTS: Parents' ES beliefs differed for patients/siblings. ES beliefs did not directly predict patient/sibling coping but did moderate relations between parent and patient coping. CONCLUSIONS: Despite extent literature promoting universal emotion coaching ES, our study indicates that ES beliefs might have a complex relation with parent coping in predicting patient coping.

Improvements in Hope and Beliefs about Illness Following a Summer Camp for Youth with Chronic Illnesses.

This study evaluated changes in hope, attitude toward illness, and perceptions of illness benefit and burden following participation in a summer camp designed for youth with a variety of chronic illnesses. Participants were 62 youth campers (Age M = 13.45 years, SD = 2.41) with a variety of chronic illnesses. For youth who began camp low in hope about future goal attainment, participation in optional camp activities negatively predicted post-camp hope about future goal attainment. This relation was nonsignificant for campers who began camp high in hope. We found no significant changes in attitude toward illness or perceptions of illness benefit or burden. This study provides an important contribution to burgeoning research on summer camps designed for children with varying chronic illnesses. Findings were inconsistent with previous studies on chronic illness summer camp outcomes. Further work is needed to identify camp components that are related to desirable psychosocial outcomes for youth with chronic illnesses.

Motivational Interviewing Training Outcomes Among Providers in a Children's Hospital.

Motivational interviewing (MI) has proven a well-established psychotherapeutic intervention designed to enhance motivation for behavior change. While the benefits of MI have been established, little research has systematically evaluated dissemination of MI efforts to healthcare providers, especially among pediatric providers. The present pilot study evaluated whether healthcare providers gained valuable knowledge, confidence and desire to utilize MI, and skills in MI techniques and if these outcomes varied based on provider characteristics or duration and intensity of MI training. Twenty pediatric healthcare professionals in a large academic pediatric hospital completed an advanced 20-h MI training and 103 pediatric healthcare professionals completed a basic 4-h MI workshop. The study demonstrated no significant differences in post-workshop MI knowledge, confidence, or desire based on trainee demographics. We also found no significant change from post-basic workshop to post-advanced workshop for advanced MI trainees. However, the advanced training workshop participants evidenced significant growth in utilizing MI skills (via MITI coding) and self-reported confidence in using MI skills. We therefore conclude that while the basic workshop allows participants to gain valuable MI knowledge and confidence and desire to utilize MI, it is through the advanced training that providers have the opportunity to practice these skills, receive feedback, and ultimately gain the expertise necessary to be effective MI providers. Overall, results from this pilot study suggest MI training in pediatric hospitals represents an important area of opportunity for multidisciplinary training, dissemination, and practice.