Social support and understanding from others are essential for recuperation of children with congenital heart disease. (Hereafter CHD). Self-disclosure, the conscious and unconscious act of revealing more about ourselves, is considered to have a positive relationship in acquiring social support and understanding. Since self- disclosure is a part of interpersonal communication and self-recognition, research of 10 to 15 year-old outpatient children with CHD was conducted in order to highlight the relationship between self esteem and social support. The average age was 12.16 ± 1.62 years old. 69.1% of them have experienced operations and 63.2% of them have no restrictions on physical activity in their daily school lives. The average of the total scale that measured their self disclosure was 62.33 ± 13.36. 57.4% disclosed their diseases. Children with CHD who go to hospital more often tend to disclose their diseases (p<0.05). Consequently, it was inferred that actions such as hospital visits encouraged them to disclose their diseases. There was no relationship between self-disclosure and self-esteem. The total of social support showed a correlation with the scale that measures self-disclosure (p=0.32, p<0.05) and more children with CHD have disclosed their diseases (p<0.05). In addition, the percentage of support from teachers is more in the case of those who disclose their disease (p<0.05). In order to improve the circumstances where self- disclosure can be made securely, significance of support from school teachers was suggested as well as enhancement of social support.

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This study was made to clarify how to acquire a practical nursing ability and what kind of experiences are involved in the acquisition process of seven newly-recruited nurses just assigned in pediatric ward of an university hospital. This study was made focusing on the first three months after their getting the work. Based on data analysis using the modified grounded theory approach, the results were classified into three categories; 1) signs of working awareness of having responsibility as a nurse in the pediatric field, 2) recognition of unexpected actual situation and 3) self-awareness of having been supported by others. Contrary to their expectation, the newly recruited nurses had a feeling that they were really helpless when they were struggling with the realities such as difficulties of handling children and pressures from the surroundings. However, they were encouraged with newly obtained supports and were able to continue the work after repeated trial and error in these circumstances. Children's smiling faces and the presence of their mothers supporting the inexperienced nurses were included in such supports. These findings pointed out that persons involved in graduate education should make an effort to lessen the pressures on the newly recruited nurses and encourage them to enhance their own abilities through repeated trial and error.

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The purposes of this study were to identify (1) the characteristics of adolescents' of acquisition of health-related information, (2) the relationships between acquiring health-related information and the related factors, which were perceived health status, social support, and self-esteem, and (3) the relationships between obtaining health-related information and the outcomes which were health behaviors and social adjustment. A total of 615 students from the 5th grade of elementary school through the 3rd grade of senior high school completed a self-report questionnaire. The main results were as follows. 1) The adolescents most frequently obtained information about the risk of smoking/alcohol use (92.8%), and less frequently obtained information about constipation (32.7%). Adolescents most frequently desired obtaining information about healthy eating (82.8%) and less frequently about the physical and mental changes that occur during adolescence (65.9%). 2) The adolescents who received higher scores for information acquisition obtained higher scores for desiring obtaining information. 3) The most frequently adopted and desired health-related information resources were teacher, mother, and book. The older adolescents less frequently adopted and desired mother and more frequently adopted and desired friend and Internet as information resources than younger youth. 4) The adolescents who obtained higher scores for information acquisition and desiring obtaining information received higher total scores for social support and higher scores for support from parents, friends, or teachers. 5) The adolescents who received higher scores for information acquisition and desiring obtaining information more effectively prevented constipation. The adolescents who participated after completing a school activity obtained significantly higher scores for information acquisition than those who did not participate.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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