Influence of Parental Guilt, Expressed Emotion, Self-transcendence and Mental health on Resilience among Parents of Children with Thalassemia

Abstract

Families of children with chronic illness experience persistent stress, fatigue and burnout. Facing diagnosis, frequent visits to the hospital and the unpredictability of most chronic illness diagnosed in childhood tends to take a toll on the emotional health of parents, a consequence that is minimally documented. The present study aims to understand the component of guilt, expressed emotion, ability to transcend one’s emotional and physical space and mental health on the resilience of parents of children with thalassemia. The study was exploratory in nature and correlational in its method. A total of 40 parents (mothers, fathers or both) participated in the study from JSS hospital, Mysore. The results of the study showed parental guilt, expressed emotion, self-transcendence (STS), mental health and resilience at varying levels in parents. Pearson’s chi-squared test showed no significant association between parental guilt, expressed emotion, self-transcendence and mental health, individually, with resilience. However, low self-hate appeared to be associated with low levels of self-transcendence and significantly greater percent of parents with low STS were found having high expressed emotion. Spearman’s rank correlation showed significant association, i.e., omnipotent guilt was noted to be positively correlated with self-transcendence and poor mental health. Similarly, self-hate was also positively correlated with self-transcendence ability. Emotional over-involvement (EOI) was negatively correlated with resilience, and EOI along with omnipotent guilt were positively correlated with poor mental health.