Psychological aspects and coping styles of parents with Haemophilic child undergoing a programme of counselling and psychological support

Parents of children affected by haemophilia must face, often without prior knowledge, the difficult challenge imposed by such a pathology. To satisfy the need of information, guideline and psychological support for a better quality of life, 30 parents with haemophiliac children have participated in a programme of counselling and psychological support. Such a programme has the aim of guiding the group trough a process of discovery, comparison and personal growth and stimulating adaptive processes of problem-solving and decision-making. The aim of this paper was to verify how the programme influenced coping strategies and other psychological constructs such as depression and anxiety. Subjects of this study were administered the following psychological tests: COPE (coping, orientation to problems experienced), BDI (beck depression inventory), STAI-Y form (state-trait anxiety inventory) at the beginning and at the end of the programme. The results show that by the end of the programme subjects are characterized by a greater use of problem-focused coping strategies, typical of individuals who think that the situation is susceptible to change, and a minor use of emotion-focused coping strategies, related to individuals who regard the situation as immutable. The use of avoidance -focused coping strategies seems to remain at the same level even if it was low. Also the other psychological aspects investigated, namely depression and anxiety, did receive a positive influence. The results show how significant such programme has been for parents.