• M G Wong and S A Heriot.
• Department of Psychological Medicine, The University of Sydney/The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW, Australia. michelw4@chw.edu.au
• Child Care Health Dev. 2008 May 1;34(3):344-54.

BackgroundCystic fibrosis is a chronic, life-threatening illness. Coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair are constructs that may explain why some children and parents adjust well to cystic fibrosis, while others adjust poorly. Vicarious hope refers to parent expectations that desirable things will occur in their child's future, whereas vicarious despair refers to parent expectations that undesirable things will occur in their child's future. The aims of this study were: (1) to examine parent coping strategies and associations with child and parent adjustment to cystic fibrosis; (2) to investigate the effects of vicarious hope and vicarious despair on coping, parent adjustment and child adjustment; and (3) to examine distinctions between coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair.MethodsParticipants were 35 parents of children with cystic fibrosis.ResultsSelf-blame and behavioural disengagement were coping strategies associated with child and parent maladjustment. Social support predicted less parental emotional impact. Vicarious hope and vicarious despair predicted child mental health, parent anxiety and parent emotional impact.ConclusionsResults indicate that vicarious hope and vicarious despair are distinct constructs from coping. Interventions directed at parent coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair are implicated.

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