There is a need for careful evaluation of PTSS and PTSD in pediatric patients with accidental injuries or sudden onset of severe chronic diseases and in their respective parents. Importantly, children, their mothers, and their fathers should be assessed separately, because a significant association between child and parental PTSS may not exist.

This study highlights the long-term influence of parental PTSS on the child's recovery after trauma and calls for a family systems approach and for early interventions in the treatment of traumatized pediatric patients.

Background: Most studies on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with cancer focussed on survivors. Only few studies have evaluated patients during ongoing oncological treatment. The aim of this study was a prospective assessment of HRQOL in children during the first year after diagnosis of cancer and an examination of demographic, medical, and parental predictors of HRQOL.

The findings support applicability of a posttraumatic stress model for investigating the psychological impact of type 1 diabetes on parents.

Glycaemic control in the child was associated with the same child and maternal personality characteristics that influence treatment adherence, health-promoting behaviours and general adjustment in adult populations. In future, studies are needed to examine attitudinal and behavioural mediators of this relationship. It is suggested that attention to the personalities of the child and the mother can help to tailor diabetes education to the individual child.