Emotion Socialization in the Context of Childhood Cancer: Perceptions of Parental Support Promotes Posttraumatic Growth.
Examined youth’s perceptions of parental reactions to youth’s cancer and non-cancer event-related distress and the link between perceptions of parental reactions and youth posttraumatic growth (PTG).



Participants included 201 youth (8–21 years) with a history of cancer. Participants self-identified their most stressful life event, which were characterized as cancer or non-cancer related, and then completed measures in reference to this event assessing (1) their perceptions of parent reactions to event-related distress and (2) PTG.



Youth who identified a cancer-related event perceived their parents as reacting with more support and reassurance/distraction than those who identified a non-cancer event. Perceptions of parental support, reassurance/distraction, and magnification of youth distress were associated with more PTG, with event type (cancer vs. non-cancer) indirectly predicting PTG through perceptions of parental support.



Youth perceive their parents as reacting differently to cancer versus non-cancer distress, which is in turn predictive of their perceptions of growth. Findings suggest that parental support and reassurance/distraction are possible mechanisms facilitating resilience and growth in children with cancer.
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.|Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis,  Memphis, TN, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, MS, USA.
Katianne M
KM
Howard Sharp
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.
Victoria W
VW
Willard
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.|Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis,  Memphis, TN, USA.
Sarah
S
Barnes
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.|Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis,  Memphis, TN, USA.|Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital , University of Memphis, TN, USA.
Rachel
R
Tillery
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.
Alanna
A
Long
Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,  Memphis, TN, USA.
Sean
S
Phipps
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012951:Socialization; D055815:Young Adult
cancer; emotion contingent reactions; emotion socialization; parenting; posttraumatic growth