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Psychosocial screening and mental health in pediatric cancer: A randomized controlled trial
Maru Barrera1, Sarah Alexander2, Eshetu G Atenafu3
1Department of Psychology.
Insights
Sharing psychosocial risk information with a child cancer patient's care team improved caregiver mental health, especially for those with high initial risk. This targeted approach aids families navigating childhood cancer.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Psychosocial Health
- Family Support
Background:
- Childhood cancer diagnosis and treatment significantly impact family mental health.
- Early identification of psychosocial risk is crucial for timely interventions.
- Caregiver well-being is integral to the child's cancer journey.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if providing psychosocial risk information to the treating team reduces caregiver depression symptoms.
- To determine if this intervention's effect varies based on initial psychosocial risk levels.
- To explore intervention effects on patient and sibling mental health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial comparing an intervention group (IG) receiving patient psychosocial risk summaries to a control group (CG).
- 122 families of newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patients participated.
- Caregivers, patients, and siblings completed depression and anxiety assessments at diagnosis and 6 months later.
Main Results:
- No overall significant difference in caregiver depression between IG and CG at 6 months.
- Caregivers in the IG showed significant improvement in depression and anxiety scores compared to CG when initial psychosocial risk was high.
- Intervention effects on patient and sibling outcomes were inconclusive due to limited sample size.
Conclusions:
- Sharing psychosocial risk information with the treating team is beneficial for caregiver mental health, particularly for high-risk families.
- This targeted intervention strategy can improve psychosocial outcomes for families coping with childhood cancer.
- Further research is needed to confirm effects on pediatric patients and siblings.
Objective:
Diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer can impact the mental health of the family. Early psychosocial risk screening may help guide interventions. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate if an intervention (providing psychosocial risk information to the patient's treating team) would result in decreased depression symptoms in caregivers, in general, and relative to initial psychosocial risk. A secondary aim was to examine intervention effects in a small sample of patient and sibling self-reported outcomes.
Methods:
We randomly allocated families to the intervention group (IG, treating team received PAT summary) or control group (CG, no summary). One hundred and twenty-two caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer completed measures of depression and anxiety and psychosocial risk 2-4 weeks from diagnosis (T1) and 6 months later (T2). Patients and siblings completed self-report measures of depression and anxiety.
Results:
There was no significant difference in caregiver depression symptoms between the IG and CG at T2. However, in the context of psychosocial risk, caregivers in the IG showed improvement in depression scores compared to CG when risk was high near diagnosis (Ms = 6.68 vs. 9.76, respectively, d = .60). Similar results were found in anxiety scores. Intervention effects with patients and siblings were inconclusive.
Conclusions:
Sharing psychosocial risk information with the treating team had measurable impact on mental health outcomes only if caregivers had initial high psychosocial risk. This study contributes to our understanding of mapping psychosocial screening and resources to improve outcomes in families managing childhood cancer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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