| This study examined the relationships between negative cognitive appraisal, dysfunctional coping, self-efficacy, social support and psychological distress experienced by parents who are caring for a child or adolescent who has been diagnosed with and is being treated for anorexia nervosa. Several self-report measures (i.e., the Experience of Caregiving Inventory, Brief COPE, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Social Provisions Scale, and the Profile of Mood States) were administered to 113 parental caregivers of children diagnosed with anorexia who were currently receiving outpatient treatment. Correlational, hierarchical regression, and mediational analyses were conducted. Negative cognitive appraisal, dysfunctional coping, and self-efficacy predicted psychological distress scores, and self-efficacy was found to partially mediate the relationship between dysfunctional coping and psychological distress. |
