Mediating functions of maternal anxiety and participation in care on youngchildren's posthospital adjustment

The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal anxiety and mot hers' participation in their children's care during hospitalization mediate d the effects of a child behavior informational intervention for mothers on their children's posthospital negative behavioral change. Participants wer e 49 mothers and their Young children, ages 24-68 months, who were unexpect edly hospitalized with unplanned medical or surgical conditions. These part icipants were drawn from ct larger study of the separate and combined effec ts of child behavior information and parent role information on the process and outcomes of materna I and child coping with unplanned hospitalization. Findings indicated that the effects of child behavior information on child ren's posthospital negative behavioral change were mediated by maternal anx iety and participation in their children's care during hospitalization. Res ults of this study provide support for targeting mothers with informational interventions in order to enhance outcomes in hospitalized children. (C) 2 001 John Wiey & Sons, Inc.