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Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

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The Power of Parenting: Longitudinal Associations Between Psychosocial Distress, Family Rules, Routines, and Child

Carolyn R Bates1,2,3, Renee M Gilbert1,4, Emily Cramer5,6

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.

Pediatric Blood & Cancer
|January 6, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Family rules and routines help children with cancer cope with stress. Lower engagement in these routines is linked to more externalizing symptoms in children facing psychosocial risks during treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Child Psychology
  • Family Systems

Background:

  • Family rules and routines are modifiable behaviors that can aid children in managing stress.
  • The role of family dynamics in pediatric cancer care is understudied.
  • This study investigates the interplay between psychosocial risk, family routines, and child well-being during cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the longitudinal associations between psychosocial risk, family rules and routines, and child emotional/behavioral health.
  • To test the hypothesis that family rules and routines mediate the impact of psychosocial risk on child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 80 caregivers of children (ages 2-14) newly diagnosed with cancer.
  • Data collected at three time points (1-3, 6-7, 12-13 months post-diagnosis) on demographics, psychosocial risk, family routines, and child symptoms.
  • Longitudinal mediation models analyzed the impact of psychosocial risk on family routines and child symptoms.

Main Results:

  • Family rules and routines partially mediated the relationship between psychosocial risk and child externalizing symptoms.
  • Higher psychosocial risk correlated with lower engagement in family routines, predicting increased child externalizing symptoms.
  • No mediation effect was found for child internalizing symptoms.

Conclusions:

  • Psychosocial risks can negatively impact family functioning, contributing to externalizing behaviors in children with cancer.
  • Interventions for pediatric cancer patients should incorporate support for establishing and maintaining family rules and routines.
  • Strengthening family routines may help mitigate behavioral issues associated with cancer treatment.
Abstract

Keywords:
behavioral healthfamily functioningpediatric cancerpsychosocial risk

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