title: Maternal directiveness in childhood survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: Parental intrusiveness is associated with internalizing problems in healthy children. Given the unique demands that childhood cancer places on parents, it is important to determine whether intrusiveness operates differently in survivors of childhood cancer. The current study tested whether cancer survivorship moderates the relation between maternal directiveness-one aspect of intrusiveness-and children's internalizing problems. Survivors (7-12 years old) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 25) and their mothers, and healthy controls (n = 22) and their mothers engaged in parent-child interactions. Mothers completed a measure of children's psychosocial adjustment, and observations of 10-min parent-child interactions were obtained. Cancer survivorship moderated the relation between directiveness and children's withdrawn/depressed symptoms. Maternal directiveness was associated with increased withdrawn/depressed symptoms for children in the control group. This association was not significant for survivors of ALL. Findings suggest that childhood cancer may alter the context in which children experience maternal directiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA, jkawamur@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Lynn Fainsilber
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Breiger
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*