Child Perceptions of Parental Care and Overprotection in Children with Cancer and Healthy Children

Abstract

Objective The primary aims of this study were to: a) examine child perceptions of overprotection; and b) explore how these perceptions relate to child health and adjustment. Method Children with a prior diagnosis of cancer (n = 205) and children without a history of serious illness (n = 76) reported on parental overprotective and caring behaviors. Children with cancer were recruited from one of four strata based on the elapsed time since their cancer diagnosis (1–6 months; 6–24 months; 2–5 years; > 5 years) Children also reported on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Results Children with cancer did not differ from healthy children in their perceptions of parental care or overprotection. Child distress was more strongly related to perceptions of care and overprotection than child’s health status. Conclusions Children with cancer do not report their parents approach to care and protection differently than children without a cancer history. These findings mirror prior research examining parental perceptions of overprotection and suggest that, despite the challenges of parenting a child with serious illness, parental protection is not significantly altered.

Quality of Life in Survivors of Pediatric Cancer and Their Siblings: The Consensus Between Parent‐Proxy and Self‐Reports

“…Indeed, a recent study found that children with cancer do not perceive their parents approach to care or protection differently than children without a history of cancer providing early evidence that the proxy problem may be inflated as a function of the method of analysis. [30] The repeated-measure ANOVA examining the discrepancy between child and parent emotional functioning was not significant and there was no significant difference between sibling reports of emotional functioning compared to published norms. [31] Yet, sibling reports of emotional functioning were relatively low compared to other subscale scores and poor agreement between parent and sibling emotional functioning was found.…”

“…Thus, taking into account both discrepancy and agreement provides a more complete picture. Indeed, a recent study found that children with cancer do not perceive their parents approach to care or protection differently than children without a history of cancer providing early evidence that the proxy problem may be inflated as a function of the method of analysis …”

“…[31] Yet, sibling reports of emotional functioning were relatively low compared to other subscale scores and poor agreement between parent and sibling emotional functioning was found. Previous research has found increased levels of emotional distress and problems among siblings of children with cancer [30,32] and suggests that siblings are at risk for emotional, social, and behavioral problems soon after a cancer diagnosis in the family. [8,18] The current study highlights poor agreement on the long-term impact cancer may have on siblings.…”

Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on psychological adjustment in Chinese pediatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

“…[19–21] This may be related to cognitive distortion caused by children's immature cognition of disease, over protection by parents and public prejudice against cancer. [22] Although the control group received only routine psychological care, the doctors, nurses, and parents could not provide effective psychological intervention to correct their cognitive distortion and make pediatric cancer patients optimistically adjust to the chemotherapy. Because the qualifications, educational background of the doctors, nurses, and parents were not uniform and lacked inadequate professional psychology knowledge.…”

Cuidador familiar del niño con cáncer: un rol en transición

“…La relación con el niño con cáncer, en varias ocasiones, tiene matices de sobreprotección que pueden llevar a un vínculo patológico en el que no solo se ve afectado el sano desarrollo de la personalidad del niño, sino también los sentimientos y metas del cuidador en su rol parental (Hullmann et al, 2010;Tillery et al, 2014). La relación con el resto de la familia se ve afectada por el aislamiento del cuidador, que dedica gran parte de su tiempo, atención, motivación y energía al cuidado del niño enfermo, dejando de lado la relación con su cónyuge u otros hijos (Rech et al, 2013;Williams et al, 2014;Zegaczewski et al, 2016).…”