In The Aftermath of Cancer: The Psychological Status of Adolescent Cancer Survivors and its Correlates

Abstract

Objective: To assess the psychological status of adolescent cancer survivors and examined its associations with selected personal (coping, cancer-related distress) and familial factors (parents' general stress, cancer-related distress).Method: Using a cross-sectional design, forty-one survivors (12-19 years) answered standardized measures to assess psychological well-being, mood and emotions and self-perception (KIDSCREEN-52), coping (ACS) and cancer-related distress (two numeric scales). Similarly, forty-one parents were assessed for general stress (PSS-14) and cancer-related distress (two numeric scales). Results:Mean scores for all KIDSCREEN psychological dimensions assessed were within normative values (50 ± 10). Regression analyses revealed two models with a range of explained variance between 17.3-31.1% for psychological well-being (F (2,37) = 5.070; p = 0.011) and mood and emotions (F (3,36) = 6.877; p = 0.001) respectively. Conclusion:This study provides tentative evidence that survivors' psychological status is related to diverse personal and familial factors, especially those concerning adolescent mobilization of coping resources during hospitalization, and parental general stress in survivorship. Although psychological outcomes in survivorship appeared satisfactory compared to normative values; this study revealed that to facilitate positive psychological adaptation in the aftermath of cancer, psychosocial interventions aimed to enhance personal and family strengths to cope with the illness are needed throughout the process.

Psychological distress of adolescent and young adult childhood cancer survivors in a South African cohort

“…Instruments have been used for the measurement of psychological distress amongst CCSs, including the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), 17 the Brief Symptom Inventory‐18 (BSI‐18), 18 the Beck Depression Index, 19 Symptom Checklist 90 revised (SCL‐90‐R), 20 the Short Form‐36, 21 KIDSCREEN‐52, 22 and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐10 23 . None has proved superior, but the BSI‐18 and the Beck Depression Index were identified as potential good screening tools during LTFU 4,15,23–26 …”

“…23 None has proved superior, but the BSI-18 and the Beck Depression Index were identified as potential good screening tools during LTFU. 4,15,[23][24][25][26] Psychological intervention during cancer treatment may assist in reducing the development and severity of psychological late effects. 27,28 Some LTFU guidelines include informal screening for psychological late effects, [29][30][31] but several publications recommend formal screening via a validated tool.…”