Emotional and behavioural functioning of children of a parent diagnosed with cancer: a cross-informant perspective.
This study investigates emotional and behavioural problems in children of parents diagnosed with cancer and examines the relationship with demographic and illness-related variables. Furthermore, agreement and differences between informants regarding child's functioning were examined. Members of 186 families in which a parent had been diagnosed with cancer participated. More emotional problems were reported for latency-aged sons (ill parents) and adolescent daughters (ill parents; self-reports), whereas also better functioning was reported in adolescent children (spouses), compared to the norm group. Age and gender-effects were found: latency-aged sons were perceived as having more emotional problems than adolescent sons (ill parents); adolescent daughters as having more emotional and behavioural problems than adolescent sons (ill parents; self-reports). Results indicated a higher prevalence of problems when the father was ill than when the mother was (spouses and self-reports). The treatment intensity affected adolescent daughter's functioning (spouses), whereas adolescent son's functioning was affected by relapsed disease (self-reports). Adolescents and mothers perceived comparable levels of problems, but fathers perceived problems in children to be less prevalent. Findings suggest that adolescent daughters and latency-aged sons are at risk for emotional problems following the diagnosis of cancer in a parent. The perception of child's functioning and potential influencing variables varied according to informant.
Visser
Annemieke
A
Department of Health Psychology, Groningen University Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
Huizinga
Gea A
GA
Hoekstra
Harald J
HJ
van der Graaf
Winette T A
WT
Klip
Ed C
EC
Pras
Elisabeth
E
Hoekstra-Weebers
Josette E H M
JE
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002667:Child Reactive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D009426:Netherlands; D015588:Observer Variation; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors