Troubled parents: vulnerability and stress in childhood cancer

The psychosocial stresses of having a child with cancer were examined in a group of 18 parents using standard psychiatric measurement scales and a lengthy semi-structured interview. Findings confirmed that staff/parent communication is difficult in a large institution but can be facilitated by staff who are aware of the difficulty. Two kinds of psychopathology were demonstrated in the parents. Thirteen of the 18 suffered symptoms of anxiety outside the normal range: of these 13, six had moderate or severe symptoms which warranted further attention. A group of six parents showed marked communication difficulty with staff, friends and their own spouses. The latter may represent a pre-existing personality trait but one which makes the experience of having a child with cancer even more distressing.