The relationship of parental overprotection, perceived vulnerability, and parenting stress to behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment in children with cancer.
BACKGROUND
To examine the relationship of self-reported parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress to parent-reported behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment of children currently on treatment for cancer.


METHODS
Parents of 62 children (34 boys, 28 girls) currently on treatment for cancer were recruited from an outpatient pediatric cancer clinic. Children ranged in age from 2 to 12 years; age at diagnosis ranged from 1.33 to 11.83 years.


RESULTS
Higher levels of parenting stress, but not parental overprotection or perceived child vulnerability, were associated with poorer behavioral and social adjustment. Higher levels of perceived child vulnerability and parenting stress, but not parental overprotection, were independently associated with poorer emotional adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
Specific parenting variables appear to be related to specific adjustment outcomes in children with cancer. Longitudinal follow-up of these children is necessary to determine the developmental trajectory of parent variables and long-term child outcomes.
Colletti
Christina J M
CJ
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA.
Wolfe-Christensen
Cortney
C
Carpentier
Melissa Y
MY
Page
Melanie C
MC
McNall-Knapp
René Y
RY
Meyer
William H
WH
Chaney
John M
JM
Mullins
Larry L
LL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*