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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Problem-solving skills, parent-adolescent communication, dyadic functioning, and distress among adolescents with
Adrienne Viola1, Alison Taggi-Pinto2, Olle Jane Z Sahler3
1Medicine/Population Science, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Abstract:
Some adolescents with cancer report distress and unmet needs. Guided by the disability-stress-coping model, we evaluated associations among problem-solving skills, parent-adolescent cancer-related communication, parent-adolescent dyadic functioning, and distress in adolescents with cancer. Thirty-nine adolescent-parent dyads completed measures of these constructs. Adolescents were 14-20 years old on treatment or within 1 year of completing treatment. Better problem-solving skills were correlated with lower adolescent distress (r = -0.70, P < 0.001). Adolescent-reported cancer-related communication problems and dyadic functioning were not significantly related to adolescent distress (rs < 0.18). Future work should examine use of problem-solving interventions to decrease distress for adolescents with cancer.
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