COPING AND COMMUNICATION AMONG PARENTS AND CHILDREN WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS AND CANCER

Coping strategies and communication of three groups of 20 preschool ch ildren and their parents were compared. One group was composed of chil dren infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who displaye d clinical symptoms of the disease; the second group was composed of c hildren diagnosed with cancer; and the third group was composed of hea lthy children. Results indicated that the parents of children with lif e-threatening illnesses reported greater degrees of wishful thinking t han did control subjects. Furthermore, parents of children with HIV re ported more wishful thinking than did parents of children with cancer. Finally, significantly more children with cancer were aware of their diagnosis than were children with HIV. The findings in this study sugg est coping and communication difficulties for parents and children wit h HIV.