PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify parental coping strategies in the face of early infant and toddler injury, and to provide basic data for a parental education program and the most desirable directions it should take.
METHODS: A Q-methodology to analyze the subjectivity of each item was used. Thirty-four Q-statements were derived from a literature review and interviews. Forty-seven parents were classified into a shape of normal distribution using a 9-point scale. Collected data were analyzed by the pc-QUANL program.
RESULTS: Five types of parental coping in early infant and toddler injury were identified. Type I was "hospital treatment focused", type II was "Improving the safety of the child's environment", type III was "expression of negative emotion", type IV was "taking the lead in problem solving", and type V was "Interrogating the person in charge of the situation in which the injury occurred".
CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that different approaches to educational programs can be used for parents in early childhood injury.