ASSESSMENT OF COPING WITH INVASIVE PROCEDURES IN CHILDREN WITH CANCER- STATE-TRAIT AND APPROACH-AVOIDANT DIMENSIONS

We examined the relation between children's trait-dependent coping sty les and situation-specific coping behaviors during invasive medical pr ocedures. Children with cancer (N = 66) completed the Children's Behav ioral Style Scale (CBSS), a measure of approach-avoidant coping styles , and the Procedural Coping Questionnaire (PCQ), an analogous measure of coping behaviors specific to invasive procedures developed for this study. Parents also completed a parent-report version of the PCQ, and both parents and children rated the severity of the child's distress before, during, and after the procedure. Factor analysis of the PCQ pr oduced 3 distinct factors with adequate internal reliability (attentio n to sensory stimuli, cognitive strategies, preference for sedation), none of which were directly interpretable within the CBSS approach-avo idant framework. CBSS scores did not significantly predict procedural distress, although the higher total coping behavior scores on the PCQ were associated with greater distress, suggesting that higher levels o f distress lead to an increase in all categories of coping behaviors. Pending further validation with behavioral observation methods, the PC Q may provide a useful measure of child coping behaviors related to me dical procedures.