title: Factors related to posttraumatic stress in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer and their parents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to severe posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer and their parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-nine families (88 adolescent survivors of childhood cancer, 87 mothers, 72 fathers) completed a self-report questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using the following risk factors for severe PTSS: trait anxiety, family functioning, demographic and medical variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Severe PTSS were reported by 10.9% (n=9) of the survivors, 20.7% (n=18) of the mothers, and 22.2% (n=16) of the fathers. Preliminary analyses found significant correlations of PTSS between mother-survivor (Spearman's gamma=0.377, p<0.01) and mother-father (Spearman's gamma=0.483, p<0.01). The results of multivariate analyses indicated that higher trait anxiety [odds ratio (OR):1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.31; p<0.05] and having medical sequelae (OR: 5.85; 95% CI:1.02-33.72; p<0.05) were significant factors related to PTSS for survivors. For mothers, the significant PTSS-related factors were: higher trait anxiety (OR:1.13; 95% CI:1.04-1.23; p<0.01); 5- to 9-year interval from the first diagnosis to the present investigation, compared to more than a 10-year interval (OR: 6.45; 95% CI:1.67-24.89; p<0.01); and a relatively lower rating on "roles" of family functioning (OR: 12.34; 95% CI:1.11-136.97; p<0.05). For fathers, trait anxiety was a significant related factor (OR: 1.07; 95% CI:1.01-1.14; p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Survivors and their parents suffered from PTSS after long interval from completion of treatment, and PTSS-related factors varied for each family member. Appropriate allocation of responsibility for family functioning may promote the ability to decrease PTSS, especially for mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozono
authors.forename: Toshinari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saeki
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mantani
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Shigeto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamawaki
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005192:Family Health; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D012107:Research Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors