The relationship between coping strategies and sociodemographic characteristics, shame and anxiety in families of children or adolescences with inflammatory bowel diseases: A cross sectional study

Introduction Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease is characterized from a complicated therapeutic management, with bodily and psychological impact to the family. Objectives This study examined the coping strategies among families with a child or adolescent with IBD. Aim The aim was to investigate possible sex differences with respect to coping strategies of the parents would correlated to overall coping strategies. Method The participants were biological parents of patients diagnosed with IBD. The total sample included 61 parents with a mean age 46.2 (SD = 7.4). The parents completed: – the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Scales; – the Other As Shamer Scale; – the Experiences of Shame Scale (ESS); – questionnaire concerning socio-demographic information. Results Mother reported higher levels of social support, accept help, passive appraisal, and overall strategies compared to fathers. The strongest difference was found in accept help ( P R 2  = 0.68, F  = 6.409, P Conclusions Our findings provide more detailed information on the coping strategies of Greek families with a child or adolescence with IBD.