Predictors of psychological functioning in children with cancer: disposition and cumulative life stressors

Objective This study examined psychological functioning in children with a history of cancer and a matched sample of healthy peers, while exploring the roles of disposition and stressful life events. Method Participants were 255 children with a history of cancer and 101 demographically matched child...

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Published in:Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) England), 2015-07, Vol.24 (7), p.779-786
Main Authors: Howard Sharp, Katianne M., Rowe, Anjoli E., Russell, Kathryn, Long, Alanna, Phipps, Sean
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjustment
Adolescent
Anxiety - psychology
Cancer
Case-Control Studies
Child
children
Children & youth
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - psychology
Emotional Adjustment
Female
Humans
Life Change Events
life events
Male
Neoplasms - psychology
oncology
Personality
Psychology
Stress
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Survivors - psychology
Variables
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Summary:Objective This study examined psychological functioning in children with a history of cancer and a matched sample of healthy peers, while exploring the roles of disposition and stressful life events. Method Participants were 255 children with a history of cancer and 101 demographically matched children (8–17 years). Children completed measures of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS); history of stressful life events; and dispositional factors, including optimism and a five‐factor personality measure. Results Children with cancer did not differ from peers with regard to depression and PTSS, but reported significantly lower anxiety. In hierarchical regressions, children's depression, anxiety, and PTSS scores were largely predicted by dispositional variables and, to a lesser extent, stressful life events, after controlling for demographics and health status. Conclusion Children's psychological functioning is predicted primarily by disposition, and secondarily by history of stressful life events, with health status (i.e., cancer versus control) accounting for minimal, and often non‐significant variance in children's functioning. These findings further support that children with cancer are generally resilient, with factors predictive of their adjustment difficulties mirroring those of children without history of serious illness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1057-9249
1099-1611
DOI:10.1002/pon.3643