Factors Related to Healthy Siblings' Psychosocial Adjustment to Children With Cancer: An Integrative Review.
OBJECTIVE
To identify factors related to the psychosocial adjustment of healthy siblings of children with cancer (HSCC).


METHODS
An integrative review was conducted. Controlled vocabularies relevant to siblings, pediatrics, children, neoplasms, and psychosocial adaptation were used to search Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature and PubMed. Articles that met inclusion criteria (eg, quantitative studies related to HSCC's psychosocial adjustment; had sample sizes of at least 30; and HSCC age between 1 and 19 years) were reviewed. Key findings of selected articles were analyzed according to sibling characteristics, social support, and contextual factors.


RESULTS
Seven nonexperimental and 5 quasi-experimental studies were reviewed. HSCC's characteristics (eg, age, gender), perceived social support from family and summer camp, and perceived contextual factors (eg, role overload, family adaptability) were significant factors that correlated with HSCC's psychosocial adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
When caring for a child diagnosed with cancer, nurses need to include HSCC in the assessment of a family unit's adaptation to cancer distress and provide appropriate interventions to promote HSCC's psychosocial well-being.
Munster Community Hospital, Munster, IN, USA tara.zegaczewski@gmail.com.
Tara
T
Zegaczewski
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Karen
K
Chang
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Jennifer
J
Coddington
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Abby
A
Berg
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010372:Pediatrics; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support
cancer; oncology; pediatrics; psychosocial; siblings