THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COPING MECHANISMS AND PARENTAL ANXIETY LEVELS IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING HOSPITALIZATION

By: Yunita Rizki Karuniawati

Hospitalization, a condition that requires a child to remain in the hospital as a patient and undergo various treatments, involves various coping mechanisms exhibited by parents when their child is hospitalized, including anger, disbelief, guilt, confusion, and anxiety about the situation. This study aims to determine the relationship between coping mechanisms and parental anxiety levels in children undergoing hospitalization.
The study design was a correlational study with a cross-sectional approach. The population was all parents who accompanied their hospitalized children to the pediatric ward of Muhammadiyah Ponorogo General Hospital from January to September, with a total of 1,169 patients, with an average of 130 patients per month, and a sample size of 64 patient families. Purposive sampling was used. Data collection used a questionnaire and analysis using the Spearman's rank test with a significance level of 0.05.
The results of the study revealed that most of the 33 respondents (51.6%) used maladaptive coping mechanisms for their children due to hospitalization, and nearly half (31 respondents (48.4%) experienced moderate anxiety. Based on the Spearman's rank test, the value of 0.000 was obtained, which is less than α=0.05, indicating a strong relationship. The Contingency Coefficient value of 0,585** was categorized as moderate.
Coping mechanisms significantly influence parents' anxiety levels when accompanying their children during hospitalization, who receive treatment in the hospital for several days. Parents were more likely to have adaptive coping mechanisms and experience mild anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, coping mechanisms, parents.