Association Between Caregivers’ Coping and Children’s Psychiatric Symptoms in the Heart Transplantation Process: A pilot study

Aim To investigate whether there is an association between caregivers' coping and children's psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in adolescent heart transplant (HTx) recipients and HTx candidates with left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Methods Fourteen patients were recruited for this pilot study (HTx (n=8), LVAD (n=6)). Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS) was administered to detect the psychiatric diagnosis of patients. Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) were filled by adolescents; Brief Coping Styles Inventory (BCSI) by their caregivers. Results Six of the participants had an internalizing disorder. Optimistic coping strategy score was significantly higher in the caregivers of adolescents without an internalizing disorder than caregivers of those with an internalizing disorder (U=2.500, z=-2.67, p=.005). Utilizing Spearman correlation, caregivers' optimistic approach (rho=-0.736, p=.004) and self-confident approach (rho=-0.634, p=.020) had significant negative correlations with children's CDI scores. Moreover, caregivers' optimistic approach score had a significant positive correlation with children's PedsQL score (rho=0.563, p=.045). Conclusions According to our preliminary results, it seems that caregivers' optimistic and self-confident coping strategies may be associated with fewer internalizing symptoms and a better quality of life in adolescents in the HTx process. A future multi-centered longitudinal study will be planned to assess the effect of caregivers' coping strategies on the psychological adjustment of these children.