I. Critique of Problem Statement. The area of research studied in this paper is how children cope with minor and major surgery (LaMontagne, Hepworth and Cohen, 2000, 245-252). Factors which affect coping have been identified previously - locus of control, parent-doctor information, and worry - but it is not known whether the type of surgery per se affects the coping strategies used, whether it influences these strategies, and whether it has any effect on predictors of coping in children about to undergo surgery. This study also looked at the relationship between type of surgery, attention focus, and coping. To date, no study has examined both major and minor surgery together in the same study of children's coping strategies. The researchers set out to determine the differential effects on coping of minor vs. major surgery and whether coping can be predicted better if the attention focus of the child is known. The research may provide some further insights on children's reactions to surgery which may influence how nurses handle these children. The purpose of the study is clearly stated in the introductory portion of the paper.
II. Critique of Literature Review. The literature review is not extensive, but this may not be an extensively covered subject. It also does not contain any recent references, the latest being from 1997, and 1996 by the same authors, and most of the others being from the 1970s and 1980s (LaMontagne, Hepworth and Cohen, 2000, 245-252). The articles used in the literature review appear to be from primary sources. The review points out the research to date on the subject of the present study, and some of the theories behind it. Although there have been no previous studies on children undergoing both minor and major surgeries in the one study, whether or not this will add anything to the knowledge gained from separate studies of children undergoing one or other type of surgery is doubtful. The present...