Coping religioso/ espiritual: A fé como estratégia de enfrentamento por cuidadores de crianças

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: to identify the presence of religious/spiritual coping in caregivers of children with special health needs. METHODOLOGY: Cross-sectional study, developed in a Public Pediatric Complex in Paraíba, the population consisted of primary caregivers of children and adolescents with special health needs admitted to the hospital, totaling 39 participants. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire composed of objective questions about the socioeconomic profile of the primary caregiver and the child, plus the Brief Religious/Spiritual Coping Scale. Absolute and relative frequencies, mean and standard deviation were analyzed. Subsequently, the chi-square test was used between the level of coping and the level of education. RESULTS: The average age of caregivers was 39.1 years, 92.3% of participants were parents, female prevalence (87.2%), the most frequent level of education was incomplete higher education, 46.2%. The most frequent religion was Catholic, 43.6% of participants. The mean score for General Coping was 3.27, for Positive Coping, 4.62, and for Negative Coping, 1.93. General Coping showed a statistical association with race, education, income and religion. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Religious coping in primary caregivers of children with special needs presents high rates of positive religious coping and low intensity of negative coping.