The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships among the perception of having (SCD), specific stressors for African-American school-age children, coping strategies utilized, and the adaptational outcomes of the coping process including psychological well-being, social functioning, and academic competence. The descriptive study will compare 75 school-age (5-11 years old) African-American children with SCD to a comparison group of 75 school-age African-Americans without SCD or other chronic illness, recruited from the same community, matched on gender and age. Data will be collected from the children with the Child Attitude toward Illness Scale, Feel Bad Scale, Schoolager's Coping Strategies Inventory, Child Drawing: Sense of Well-being, and Self-perception Profile for Children. In addition, demographic data will be collected from parents along with their perception of their children's competency in certain activities or behaviors. Relationships between variables will be determined with correlational procedures, while differences between the two groups will be determined with procedures to determine differences. The findings of this study will add to the meager knowledge about specific concerns of children with SCD and how they perceive their ability to cope with SCD. The data will reveal coping strategies associated with more effective or less effective adaptation for children as they deal with the stressors of SCD. The data obtained will be used to develop an intervention protocol to promote the optimal adaptation of school-age African-American children with SCD.
