THE RELATIONSHIPS OF INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL SUPPORT TO EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES AMONG JAPANESE MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE MINOR ILLNESSES.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 157
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Public Health.; Education, Educational Psychology.
Description: The purpose of the researcher was to empirically examine the relationships of information-seeking behavior and social support to emotional outcomes among Japanese mothers. Lazarus' (1984) theory of stress and coping provided the theoretical framework. The sample consisted of 181 mothers (return rate 94.7%) who met the following delimitations: the mother had an only child with a minor illness for which she had consulted a doctor within the last three months, the child was under four years old and was free of other health conditions, and the mother was a member of a nuclear family.

The mothers were selected from five public health centers in Tokyo, Japan. Information-seeking behavior was measured by four subscales of the Krantz Health Opinion Survey which was modified for the present study: asking for information from the medical staff; Enryo, or a desire to ask questions but not asking freely; Omakase based on trust, which is trusting the medical staff with information and decision making; and Omakase based on resignation which is resigning oneself to the medical staff. Perceived social support was measured by the Personal Resource Questionnaire 85 Part 2. Emotional outcomes were measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule.

The hypotheses were tested by means of the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient. The hypotheses were: there is an inverse relationship between asking and negative emotional outcomes; there is a positive relationship between Enryo and negative emotional outcomes; there is an inverse relationship between Omakase based on trust and negative emotional outcomes; there is a positive relationship between Omakase based on resignation and negative emotional outcomes; and there is an inverse relationship between perceived social support and negative emotional outcomes.

All hypotheses were supported and ancillary findings of interest are reported. Recommendations are made for future study. The findings contribute to an understanding of the nature of information-seeking, social support, and emotional response in a society that has experienced social change within the context of valued traditions.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: B, page: 1360.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1991.

School code: 0146.