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A prospective study of the psychological adjustment of children with cancer
M G Sawyer1, G Antoniou, A M Nguyen
1Evaluation Unit, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia.
Insights
Children with cancer, especially younger ones, may face emotional and behavioral issues post-diagnosis. However, these problems often decrease significantly within a year, showing resilience in pediatric cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Cancer diagnosis presents significant emotional and behavioral challenges for children.
- Understanding the trajectory of these challenges is crucial for supportive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess emotional and behavioral problems and social competencies in children with cancer.
- To compare these outcomes immediately post-diagnosis and one year later.
- To examine age-related differences in problem prevalence.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of forty children with cancer was studied.
- Emotional and behavioral problems and social competencies were assessed.
- A matched group of children without cancer served as a control.
Main Results:
- Younger children with cancer showed more internalizing problems initially compared to controls.
- Younger children with cancer demonstrated significant improvement in these problems within one year.
- Older children with cancer did not exhibit higher problem prevalence than controls at either time point.
Conclusions:
- Age influences the prevalence and trajectory of emotional and behavioral problems in children with cancer.
- Younger children with cancer experience a notable decline in problems one year post-diagnosis.
- Early interventions may support children with cancer, particularly younger ones.
Purpose:
This paper describes the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and the social competencies of forty children with cancer immediately after their diagnosis and one year post-diagnosis.
Patients And Methods:
At both points of time the problems and competencies of the children with cancer were compared with the problems and competencies of a matched group of children living in the community.
Results:
The results suggest that early in their illnesses, younger children with cancer experience more internalising problems than children in the community. However, the younger children with cancer improved significantly in these areas during the year after their diagnosis. As a result, one year after their diagnosis there was little difference in the prevalence of problems amongst the younger children with cancer and the children in the community. The older children with cancer did not appear to have more problems than children in the community at either the first or the second assessment.
Conclusions:
The results of the study draw attention to possible differences in the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems experienced by younger and older children with cancer. The results also suggest that amongst younger children with cancer the prevalence of problems declines during the year after their initial diagnoses.