Do Parental Coping, Involvement, Religiosity, and Racial Identity Mediate Childrens Psychological Adjustment to Sickle Cell Disease?
Abstract: Many African Americans with sickle cell disease (SCD) also experience significant economic hardship. Yet, few studies of the psychosocial effects of SCD employ designs robust enough to control socioeconomic factors. This study compares the functioning of families with SCD to that of healthy controls matched for race and SES. Child Ss (aged 5-18 yrs) included 77 children with SCD, 28 siblings of children with SCD, and 74 children who had neither an illness nor siblings with an illness. A total of 71 parents of SCD children and 50 control parents also participated in the study. Results show that in general, functioning within SCD and control families did not differ. However parents granted less autonomy to, and were less involved in the schooling of children with SCD. Overall, SCD had a greater impact on children’s social and academic competence than on their emotional functioning. However adolescents with SCD and their siblings were at greater risk for mental health difficulti
