The birth of medically ill and pre-term infants can be a particularly stressful experience for parents and siblings. With advances in medical technology and increased survival rates of pre-term infants, many parents experience lengthy and stressful Neonatal Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations of their infants. This results in adjustment difficulties, which impact both families and medical staff. Although there have been numerous studies focusing on the reactions of mothers with pre-term infants, very few recent studies have addressed the reactions of fathers and siblings. One of the effects of the lack of substantial research in this area is that clinicians do not have adequate information on how to address these issues and provide treatment interventions. In this study, we propose to examine the prevalence and nature of adjustment difficulties in family members, and also examine coping strategies which are associated with improved outcome. It is hoped that results of this study will lead to possible treatment interventions to improve the experience of families with medically ill or pre-term infants. The purpose of this study is to identify the psychological adjustment of parents and siblings in families with infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and examine the coping strategies utilized to manage this stressful experience.
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