Coping, Anxiety, and Health Care Transition Readiness in Youth with Chronic Conditions

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the relationship between coping and health care transition readiness, and to examine whether anxiety is a mediator between coping and health care transition readiness.

Design and methods: A sample of 174 youths with various chronic conditions (age 13.03 ± 2.02 years, 48.3% male) attending the 2018 Victory Junction Camp and their parents participated. Youths and parents completed measures to assess coping (Kidcope Checklist), anxiety symptoms (PROMIS Anxiety scale), and transition readiness (STARx Questionnaire) through Qualtrics online surveys.

Results: Positive coping was positively related to transition readiness in both youth and parent-proxy reports, while negative coping was negatively related to transition readiness in youth reports. Anxiety mediated the relationship of positive coping and transition readiness in parent-proxy reports, and the relationship of negative coping and transition readiness in both youth self-reports and parent-reports.

Conclusions: Coping is an important factor in transition readiness. Furthermore, anxiety is an important mediator, and may be more influential in the relationship of negative coping and transition readiness.

Practice implications: Practitioners and health care providers can use these findings to promote the use of positive coping and reduce the use of negative coping, which in turn may improve outcomes for youth with chronic health conditions who are transitioning to adult health care services.

Keywords: Anxiety; Chronic illness; Coping; Health care transition readiness; Youth.