Benefit Finding and Quality of Life in Caregivers of Childhood Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Background Benefit finding, or finding positive outcomes in the face of adversity, may play a role in predicting quality of life (QoL) among caregivers, but mixed results suggest that other factors may moderate this relationship. Objective This study examined demographic and psychosocial moderators of the association between benefit finding and QoL among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. Methods Caregivers of childhood cancer survivors (n=83) completed measures of benefit finding, QoL, coping, optimism, social support, caregiving demand, posttraumatic stress, and demographics. Results The relationship between benefit finding and QoL was moderated by caregiver age, marital status, socioeconomic status, geographic location, acceptance and emotion-focused coping, optimism, caregiving demand, and posttraumatic stress. Benefit finding was more strongly related to QoL among caregivers with fewer demographic/psychosocial resources. Conclusions Results suggest that finding benefits in the cancer experience may have a greater positive impact for caregivers with relatively fewer demographic and psychosocial resources, and may have less of an impact for caregivers with relatively greater resources. Findings further point to the complex nature of QoL among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. Implications for Practice Results may aid clinicians in identifying caregivers at particular risk for low QoL. They may be counseled to find benefits in their experience or provided with resources to strengthen other factors that impact QoL.

Exploring the Moderating Role of Benefit Finding on the Relationship Between Child Problematic Behaviours and Psychological Distress in Caregivers of Children with ASD

“…Total scores, calculated by summing across all 17 items, range from 17-85, with higher scores reflecting more benefits. The BFS, modified for use with caregivers, has been shown to have good internal consistency (all alphas > .89) in other recent studies (Ekas et al, 2015;Gardner et al, 2017;Slattery et al, 2017), and psychometrics in the current study were good (α = .87).…”

The relationship between positive aspects of caring, anxiety and depression in the caregivers of cancer patients: The mediational role of burden

“…Appreciating the benefits of caring for an adult or child with cancer reduces stress and improves the caregiver's resilience, coping and quality of life (Burton et al, 2012; Gardner et al, 2017). Previous research suggests that there is a link between benefit finding and quality of life among cancer survivors, caregivers for children in intensive care units, and caregivers for adults with cancer (Gardner et al, 2017). Identifying the benefits of the caring experience entails changes in the appraisal process, coping strategies and resources, interpersonal relationships, goals and priorities (Cassidy et al., 2014).…”

Health behaviors of caregivers of childhood cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study

“…Previous studies on childhood cancer caregivers have mainly examined psychological outcomes or quality of life [3,4,[15][16][17]. Few studies have examined health behaviors in cancer patient caregivers [18], and those examining caregivers of childhood cancer survivors are even scarcer.…”