title: Post-traumatic stress symptoms in childhood brain tumour survivors and their parents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to investigate post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in childhood brain tumour survivors and their parents. A further aim was to explore the relationship between objective illness parameters, parent-child interactions, coping styles and PTSS.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. Fifty-two childhood brain tumour survivors, aged 8-16, and 52 parents completed a battery of questionnaires designed to assess quality of parent-child interactions, monitoring and blunting attentional coping styles and PTSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over one-third (35%) of survivors and 29% of their parents reported severe levels of PTSS (suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder 'caseness'). Increased parent-child conflict resolution for survivors and number of tumour recurrences for parents independently predicted the variance in PTSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For a substantial proportion of brain tumour survivors and their parents the process of survivorship is a considerably distressing experience.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. matt.bruce@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gumley
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Isham
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fearon
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Phipps
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012008:Recurrence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*