SOCIAL SUPPORT IN FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS - SUPPORTIVE AND NONSUPPORTIVE BEHAVIORS

We questioned parents of 182 young children with a variety of chronic health conditions concerning the amount of emotional, informational, a nd tangible social support they received from the family, community, a nd service providers. We also asked parents to describe nonsupportive or hurtful behaviors received from family or community members. Both m others and fathers reported that family members provided the most emot ional and tangible social support and service providers the most infor mational support. The amount of perceived support from all sources inc reased over time, but 78% of mothers and 60% of fathers reported at le ast one instance of nonsupport from these same sources, primarily from extended family members and health professionals. We encourage health professionals to show respect and to provide timely, accurate informa tion in a sensitive manner to parents whose child has a chronic health condition and to assist parents in handling nonsupportive behaviors f rom family and friends.