Levels of anxiety, social support and coping strategies of family members of children with acute leukemia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background This study sampled Chinese families of children with acute leukemia to assess their levels of anxiety and explore whether those levels were associated with social support levels and coping style. The study also aimed to identify demographic factors influencing anxiety, social support and coping style. Methods A purposive sample of 223 families whose children were being treated for acute leukemia at West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University completed a questionnaire to provide basic demographic information as well as the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Social Support Rating Scale, and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Categorical data were reported as n (%), while continuous data were reported as mean ± standard deviation if normally distributed or as median (interquartile range) if skewed. the Kruskal-Wallis or Wilcoxon rank sum test, Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, Pearson correlation analysis or Spearman correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Results The score of anxiety in our sample was 36.80 ± 9.05 points and 33.6% of family members exhibited clinically significant symptoms of anxiety; anxiety level was significantly higher in family members whose affected children had no siblings (P < 0.05). The score of social support was 42.86 ± 7.80 points. Objective social support level was significantly higher for families living in urban areas than rural areas (P < 0.05), and it correlated positively with monthly household income (B = 2.176, P = 0.009). The score of coping style was 50.23 ± 10.04 points. Coping style score was significantly higher for family members in urban areas, with more education, or with higher monthly household income. It also correlated positively with overall social support score. Conclusions Our results suggest that many families of children with acute leukemia suffer clinically significant anxiety. Families from rural areas and those with lower income have relatively poor social support and coping abilities. Additionally, levels of education is related to their coping abilities, and they can benefit from education and psychological support.