Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify factors affecting stress responses and satisfaction with life of mothers of children with chronic illnesses. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2007. Data were collected from eighty-two mothers and were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicated that mothers' emotional stress responses were significantly influenced by avoidant and escape coping (p<.01, β=-.364) and anxiety for failure which is sub-scales of the General Self-efficacy Scale (p<.05, β=-.206). Cognitive and behavioral stress responses were influenced by anxiety for failure (p<.01, β=-.351) and the number of medical procedures performed in the home (p<.05, β=.215). Physical stress responses were also influenced by the number of medical procedures performed in the home (p<.01, β=.376); however, as the R^2 values for these analyses were less than 0.2, they were too small to account for all of the influence. Furthermore, satisfaction with life was most significantly influenced by social support (p<.001, β=.595) and positiveness of behavior which is sub-scales of the General Self-efficacy Scale (p<.01, β=.237; p<.001, R^2=.741). These findings suggested that social support facilitates the psychological adaptation of the mothers to their children's chronic illnesses.
