title: A meta-analytic review of the influence of pediatric cancer on parent and family functioning.
abstract: This study used meta-analytic methods to compare the functioning of parents of children with cancer to parents of physically healthy children or normative samples. A meta-analysis using fixed effects, weighted least squares methods was conducted on 29 studies examining psychological distress and marital and family functioning among parents of children with cancer. Mothers and fathers of children newly diagnosed with cancer reported significantly greater distress than comparison samples. Mothers reported greater distress than fathers up to 12 months postdiagnosis. Mothers of children with cancer reported higher levels of family conflict than mothers of healthy children. Findings suggest that pediatric cancer impacts parents' perceptions of self- and family functioning, especially within the 1st year following diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. paia@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Ahna L H
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: Rachel Neff
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Greenley
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewandowski
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drotar
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Youngstrom
authors.forename: Catherine Cant
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations