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Children of cancer patients: prevalence and predictors of emotional and behavioral problems

Birgit Möller1, Claus Barkmann, Thomas Krattenmacher

  • 1University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Hamburg, Germany; University Medical Center Münster, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Münster, Germany.

Cancer
|June 25, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Children of cancer patients exhibit higher emotional and behavioral problems. Family dysfunction is a key predictor, but individual child factors also significantly contribute to these issues.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychology
  • Oncology Support Services
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Children with cancer patients face elevated risks for emotional and behavioral difficulties.
  • This multisite study investigated the prevalence and predictors of these problems in children of cancer patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in children of cancer patients.
  • To identify key predictors of these problems across child, parent, family, and cancer-related variables.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 235 families (402 parents, 324 children aged 11-21) across 5 medical centers.
  • Utilized the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to measure child emotional and behavioral problems.
  • Employed a mixed-model approach and multiple random coefficient modeling to analyze predictors.

Main Results:

  • Children of cancer patients showed higher mean levels of emotional and behavioral symptoms compared to normative data.
  • General family dysfunction emerged as the strongest predictor across child, healthy parent, and ill parent perspectives.
  • Individual child-level variance accounted for a substantial portion of the observed problems.

Conclusions:

  • Screening for child mental health and family dysfunction in oncology settings can identify families needing psychosocial support.
  • Psychological services should adopt a family-oriented and child-centered approach, targeting family dysfunction.
  • Early intervention is crucial for preventing mental health problems in children of cancer patients.
Abstract

Keywords:
childmedical oncologyneoplasmsparentspsychologyrisk factors

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