Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model

AimTo examine four variables in the model of perceived uncertainty in illness in northwestern China; to explore the relationship between severity, social support, illness uncertainty, and active coping in parents of children with epilepsy.DesignA cross-sectional study design.Reporting methodThe STRO...

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Main Authors: Miao Zhang, Liyun Lei, Dan Yao, Yongai Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1575628/full
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author Miao Zhang
Liyun Lei
Dan Yao
Yongai Zhang
author_facet Miao Zhang
Liyun Lei
Dan Yao
Yongai Zhang
author_sort Miao Zhang
collection DOAJ
description AimTo examine four variables in the model of perceived uncertainty in illness in northwestern China; to explore the relationship between severity, social support, illness uncertainty, and active coping in parents of children with epilepsy.DesignA cross-sectional study design.Reporting methodThe STROBE checklist was used to ensure the rigor in this study.MethodThis study recruits parents of children with epilepsy from a tertiary children’s hospital using convenience sampling between January and November 2024. Eligible participants completed questionnaires via an online platform (https://www.wjx.cn/) by scanning the QR code. Structural equation modeling and mediated effects serve as the methods for data analysis.ResultThis study surveyed 492 parents, including 192 males (39.0%) and 300 females (61.0%). The corrected model achieved an acceptable model fit: (χ2 = 89.104 (p < 0.001); df = 59; χ2/df = 1.510; RMSEA = 0.043; CFI = 0.960; TLI = 0.941; IFI = 0.969). Severity positively predicted illness uncertainty (β = 0.105, p < 0.05). Social support negatively predicted illness uncertainty (β = −0.111, p < 0.05) and positively predicted active coping (β = 0.583, p < 0.001). Illness uncertainty negatively predicted active coping (β = −0.075, p < 0.05). Social support had a direct positive effect on active coping (β = 0.550, p < 0.01), and social support had an indirect negative effect on active coping through uncertainty (β = −0.012, p < 0.001).ConclusionIllness uncertainty partially mediated the relationship between social support and active coping. However, we did not confirm a relationship between illness severity and active coping in this study.
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spelling doaj-art-57d8edec6d04423fac4671a65ff28ed32025-08-20T03:33:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952025-06-011610.3389/fneur.2025.15756281575628Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation modelMiao Zhang0Liyun Lei1Dan Yao2Yongai Zhang3School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Xi'an Medical University, Xi'an, ChinaXi’an Children’s Hospital, Xi'an, ChinaXi’an Children’s Hospital, Xi'an, ChinaSchool of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Xi'an Medical University, Xi'an, ChinaAimTo examine four variables in the model of perceived uncertainty in illness in northwestern China; to explore the relationship between severity, social support, illness uncertainty, and active coping in parents of children with epilepsy.DesignA cross-sectional study design.Reporting methodThe STROBE checklist was used to ensure the rigor in this study.MethodThis study recruits parents of children with epilepsy from a tertiary children’s hospital using convenience sampling between January and November 2024. Eligible participants completed questionnaires via an online platform (https://www.wjx.cn/) by scanning the QR code. Structural equation modeling and mediated effects serve as the methods for data analysis.ResultThis study surveyed 492 parents, including 192 males (39.0%) and 300 females (61.0%). The corrected model achieved an acceptable model fit: (χ2 = 89.104 (p < 0.001); df = 59; χ2/df = 1.510; RMSEA = 0.043; CFI = 0.960; TLI = 0.941; IFI = 0.969). Severity positively predicted illness uncertainty (β = 0.105, p < 0.05). Social support negatively predicted illness uncertainty (β = −0.111, p < 0.05) and positively predicted active coping (β = 0.583, p < 0.001). Illness uncertainty negatively predicted active coping (β = −0.075, p < 0.05). Social support had a direct positive effect on active coping (β = 0.550, p < 0.01), and social support had an indirect negative effect on active coping through uncertainty (β = −0.012, p < 0.001).ConclusionIllness uncertainty partially mediated the relationship between social support and active coping. However, we did not confirm a relationship between illness severity and active coping in this study.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1575628/fullepilepsyillness uncertaintysocial supportactive copingparent
spellingShingle Miao Zhang
Liyun Lei
Dan Yao
Yongai Zhang
Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
Frontiers in Neurology
epilepsy
illness uncertainty
social support
active coping
parent
title Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
title_full Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
title_fullStr Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
title_full_unstemmed Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
title_short Severity, uncertainty, social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy: a structural equation model
title_sort severity uncertainty social support and coping style of parents who have children with epilepsy a structural equation model
topic epilepsy
illness uncertainty
social support
active coping
parent
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1575628/full
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