Psychological adjustment of parents of pediatric cancer patients revisited: five years later.

We investigated the psychological functioning of parents of children suffering from pediatric cancer using a prospective design over a five-year time period. Parents of children diagnosed with cancer participated at diagnosis (T1), six months (T2), twelve months (T3), and five years later (T4, n = 115). Repeated measures ANOVAs were calculated for the three measures of psychological distress (GHQ, SCL-90 and STAI-S) to examine changes over time and gender differences. Independent T-tests were computed to examine differences between the mean scores of the parents at T4 and the norm groups. The effects of health status and earlier levels of distress on T4 functioning were examined using ANOVA and partial correlational analysis. Results showed that levels of reported distress, psychoneurotic symptoms and state anxiety significantly decreased across time to normal levels at T4 except on the GHQ. A significantly higher percentage of parents (27%) than in the norm group (15%) showed clinically elevated scores on the GHQ. Mothers had higher scores than fathers only on state anxiety. Parents of relapsed children reported higher anxiety levels than parents of surviving and deceased children. Psychological functioning at T1 was significantly related to functioning at T4. These results support the conclusion that although parental distress decreases with time, a significant number of parents still suffer from clinical distress after five years. Parents of relapsed children are at risk for long-term psychological problems as are those with higher levels of psychosomatic complaints at diagnosis.

Wijnberg-Williams BJ ，Kamps WA ，Klip EC ，Hoekstra-Weebers JE ... -  《PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY》

Psychological distress and the impact of social support on fathers and mothers of pediatric cancer patients: long-term prospective results.

Wijnberg-Williams BJ ，Kamps WA ，Klip EC ，Hoekstra-Weebers JE ... -  《-》

Parent-child communication patterns during the first year after a parent's cancer diagnosis: the effect on parents' functioning.

Good parent-child communication is thought to help families adjust more easily during stressful events such as parental cancer. Families dealing with cancer who communicate openly have reported less psychological distress. The first year after diagnosis may be particularly stressful. The authors investigated parents' quality of life (QOL) and stress-response symptoms and parent-child communication during the first year after diagnosis and examined possible relationships between communication and parents' functioning. Recently-diagnosed cancer patients (N=70) and spouses (N=55) participated within 4 months of diagnosis (T1) and 6 months (T2) and 12 months later (T3). Parents reported on communication with the children (PACS) and on their own physical and psychosocial functioning (RAND-36) and stress-response symptoms (IES). Parent-child communication remained stable throughout the first year after diagnosis and was similar to communication in families 1 year to 5 years after diagnosis. Patients' functioning improved and cancer-related distress decreased significantly. Spouses' cancer-related distress decreased; their functioning fluctuated through the year. In concurrent analyses, patients' open communication with the children related only to T1 intrusion. Spouses' open communication related to T3 psychosocial functioning; problem communication related to T1 and T2 psychosocial functioning and T2 avoidance. In prospective analyses, no significant relationships were found between parent-child communication and change in parents' functioning. Communication between parents and children remained stable over time; patients' and spouses' functioning improved. Parent-child communication seems to have a limited affect on parents' functioning.

Gazendam-Donofrio S ，Hoekstra H ，van der Graaf W ，van de Wiel H ，Visser A ，Huizinga G ，Hoekstra-Weebers J ... -  《-》

Longer-term psychiatric adjustment of children and parents after meningococcal disease.

Garralda ME ，Gledhill J ，Nadel S ，Neasham D ，O'Connor M ，Shears D ... -  《Pediatric Critical Care Medicine》

Risk factors for psychological maladjustment of parents of children with cancer.

Hoekstra-Weebers JE ，Jaspers JP ，Kamps WA ，Klip EC ... -  《JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY》