Post traumatic growth, resilience, social support and coping styles in the parents of very low birth weight infants: a multi-center cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic growth can guide parents to cherish life more deeply, thereby improving the quality of care they provide to their children. Despite evidence linking a resilience with post traumatic growth, the processes by which aspect of resilience influences post traumatic growth remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of social support and coping styles in the relationship between resilience and post traumatic growth. Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 344 parents of infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of 9 comprehensive or specialized hospitals at level two or above in Fujian Province were selected by convenience sampling method. Five self-reported questionnaires were completed by participants. The data were analyzed by SAS 9.4 statistical software. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the relationships between the components using AMOS 24.0 software. Results: Psychological resilience can directly influence post-traumatic growth, or indirectly affect it through the mediating roles of social support and positive coping style (P<0.05). The noteworthy point is that social support can only influence post traumatic growth through positive coping style. Conclusions: This study provides further insight into the importance of strengthening resilience, providing support and developing positive coping strategies from nurses and healthcare providers for promoting post traumatic growth among very low birth weight infants parents. It is especially important to implement interventions directly targeting the enhancement of resilience of parents of very low birth weight infants.