Attitudes Toward Parents of Children with Cancer
Authors
Shafer, Faith
Issue Date
2024-04-05
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Cancer , Parenting
Alternative Title
Abstract
Although there is evidence involving how parents perceive their own parenting styles (e.g., Van Leeuwen & Vermulst, 2004), there is relatively little research on how others may evaluate various parenting behaviors. One of the goals of the current study was to assess if there are any differences in how various parenting behaviors (i.e., authoritarian vs. permissive) are perceived by others, and if these perceptions are influenced by the child’s health status (i.e., child has cancer vs. healthy). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four possible conditions in which they were asked to read vignettes about either an authoritarian or permissive parent of a child who either has cancer or is healthy. Participants then rated their perceptions of the parent featured in the vignette using a 12-item person perception scale that assessed how warm (e.g., “This parent is kind.”) or competent (e.g., “This parent is effective.”) they perceived the parent to be. Results showed parents of children with cancer tend to be perceived favorably more favorably than parents of healthy children, which could alleviate some sources of potential stress for parents who are focused on the health and well-being of their children.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Washburn University