Parental Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms as Predictors of Psychosocial Problems in Children Treated for Cancer

Ryoko Nakajima-Yamaguchi, Nobuaki Morita, Tomohei Nakao, Takashi Shimizu, Yasukazu Ogai, Hideto Takahashi, Tamaki Saito, Yoji Nakatani and Takashi Fukushima
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Ryoko Nakajima-Yamaguchi: Departments of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Nobuaki Morita: Departments of Social Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Tomohei Nakao: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Amakubo 2-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8576, Japan
Takashi Shimizu: Departments of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Yasukazu Ogai: Departments of Social Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Hideto Takahashi: Office of Information Management and Statistics, Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Faculty of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Tamaki Saito: Departments of Social Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Yoji Nakatani: Kubota Clinic, 3-2-4 Yokokawa, Sumida, Tokyo 130-0003, Japan
Takashi Fukushima: Departments of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the association between psychosocial functioning of children treated for cancer and that of their parents. Factors associated with psychosocial functioning were also examined. The present study was a cross-sectional survey of 33 mothers and one father (mean age: 37.9), each of whom had a child that had been treated for cancer. The participants answered a package of questionnaires consisting of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Parent Experience of Child Illness (PECI), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Information about the children’s illnesses was collected from medical records. The CBCL total problems T score was correlated with the parental IES-R total scores. Intensity of treatment independently predicted the variance of parental long-term uncertainty. In conclusion, psychosocial problems of children with cancer were associated with parental post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Provision of early, adequate support to parents who are vulnerable to PTSS will help not only the parents, but also their children with cancer.

Keywords: childhood cancer; child behavior; adolescent behavior; parent-child relations; communication; posttraumatic stress symptoms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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