Parents' emotion socialization beliefs moderate relations between parent and patient coping, but not sibling coping, with pediatric cancer.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated (a) differences in parents' emotion socialization (ES) beliefs for patients/siblings, (b) whether parents' ES beliefs predict patient/sibling coping, and (c) whether parents' ES beliefs moderate links between parent and patient/sibling coping with pediatric cancer.


METHOD
This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of 134 pediatric cancer patients, their caregiver, and their nearest-age sibling. Participants could complete measures themselves via paper-and-pencil or telephone, or researchers could read questions aloud.


RESULTS
Parents' ES beliefs differed for patients/siblings. ES beliefs did not directly predict patient/sibling coping but did moderate relations between parent and patient coping.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite extent literature promoting universal emotion coaching ES, our study indicates that ES beliefs might have a complex relation with parent coping in predicting patient coping.