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Parental depression and family environment predict distress in children before stem cell transplantation

Lisa Jobe-Shields1, Melissa A Alderfer, Maru Barrera

  • 1Division of Behavioral Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105-2794, USA.

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP
|March 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parental depression and family environment significantly impact child distress during stem cell or bone marrow transplantation. Supportive family dynamics can protect children when parents have low depressive symptoms.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Child Psychology
  • Family Systems

Background:

  • Children undergoing stem cell or bone marrow transplantation face significant distress.
  • Parental mental health and family environment are crucial factors influencing pediatric patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how parental depressive symptoms and family environment predict distress in children undergoing transplantation.
  • To examine the interaction between parental and family factors in explaining child distress.

Main Methods:

  • 146 youth undergoing transplantation completed self-report measures of illness-related distress.
  • Parents completed measures of depressive symptoms, family cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict.

Main Results:

  • Parental depression, family cohesion, and expressiveness predicted child distress.
  • Interactions between parental depression and family cohesion/expressiveness were significant.
  • High parental depression led to high child distress irrespective of family environment; low parental depression allowed family factors to be protective.

Conclusions:

  • Parental depressive symptoms and family functioning interact to influence child distress.
  • Findings suggest interventions targeting parental mental health and family support are vital for pediatric cancer patients.
  • Promoting positive family functioning may buffer children against distress during challenging medical procedures.
Abstract

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