Parenting changes in adults with cancer

• Published in: Cancer 2015-10, Vol.121 (19), p.3551-3557
• Main Authors: Moore, Cynthia W., Rauch, Paula K., Baer, Lee, Pirl, William F., Muriel, Anna C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; cancer; Cross-Sectional Studies; depression; Depression - psychology; family relations; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - psychology; parenting; Parenting - psychology; Quality of Life; self‐efficacy
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29525

BACKGROUND Children whose parents have cancer are at risk for psychosocial difficulties; however, the mechanisms are not well understood. This cross‐sectional study sought support for a model connecting parental cancer to child distress through its impact on parenting self‐efficacy beliefs and parenting behaviors by examining relations among parental illness, quality of life/parent functioning, parenting efficacy beliefs, and concerns about children's emotional distress. METHODS One hundred ninety‐four adult oncology outpatients with children who were 18 years old or younger completed questionnaires assessing their health‐related quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General), depression and anxiety symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), overall distress (Distress Thermometer), and parenting efficacy beliefs and parenting concerns (Parenting Concerns Questionnaire). RESULTS Parenting efficacy scores for parents and coparents declined significantly after diagnosis. This decline correlated with more visits to a medical clinic, treatment with intravenous chemotherapy in the past month, poorer health‐related quality of life, and more depression and distress. Parents experiencing the most concern about the impact of mood, physical limitations, and changes in routines on their children experienced the biggest declines in their own sense of efficacy as parents and in their belief in their coparent's efficacy. Finally, declines in parenting efficacy beliefs correlated with parental concerns about children's emotional distress about aspects of the parent's illness. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the importance of identifying and addressing parenting concerns to alleviate patient distress, and it may help to guide future intervention efforts. Cancer 2015;121:3435–43. © 2015 American Cancer Society. Declines in parenting self‐efficacy beliefs after a cancer diagnosis are correlated to aspects of treatment, health‐related quality of life, depression and distress, and concerns about the impact of cancer on dependent children. This study highlights the importance of both identifying parenting concerns as a potential mediator between parental cancer and children's heightened risk for psychosocial difficulties and addressing these concerns to alleviate patient distress.