A Stress Inoculation Program for Parents Whose Children Are Undergoing Painful Medical Procedures

The efficacy of a stress inoculation intervention program was compared with that of a child focused intervention program in helping parents cope with their children's painful medical procedures. Ss included 72 parents (79% mothers) of pediatric leukemia patients (aged 3-12 years) who were undergoing either bone marrow aspirations ( n = 28) or lumbar punctures ( n = 44). Parents were assessed during a baseline procedure and then were randomly assigned to either a stress inoculation group or a child-focused intervention group. In the child focused intervention, parents merely observed their child's participation in a cognitive behavior therapy program. Assessment of parents included an observation measure of parent behavior, self-reported measures of anxiety and coping, and physiological measures. Results indicate that parents in the stress inoculation program reported lower anxiety scores and higher positive self-statement scores than did parents in the child-focused intervention.