Perceived Social Competency in Children With Brain Tumors: Comparison Between Children on and off Therapy

Abstract

Children with brain tumors are at risk for a number of cognitive, academic, and social difficulties as a consequence of their illness and its treatment. Of these, the least is known about social functioning, particularly over the course of the illness. Thirty children with brain tumors were evaluated using neurocognitive and psychological measures, including a measure of perceived competency. Results indicated that off-therapy brain tumor patients reported more concerns about their social competence than both a normative sample and children on treatment. Findings highlight the need for more research aimed at helping survivors cope with long-term stressors associated with their illness.

Predictors of adaptive functioning and psychosocial adjustment in children with pediatric brain tumor: A report from the brain radiation investigative study consortium

“…The BASC-2 is a multidimensional questionnaire that assesses parent report of adaptive and problem behaviors through Likert-scale ratings. There are three forms, which have comparable structures, for various ages levels: preschool (4-5), child (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11), and adolescent (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). For the present study, the BASC-2 Internalizing Problems Composite, Externalizing Problems Composite, and Behavioral Symptoms Index (BSI) were used to measure behavioral adjustment.…”

“…These deficits persisted across the first six months after surgery [6]. Hardy and colleagues compared social competence and psychosocial functioning in 15 children on treatment for pediatric brain tumor with 15 children recently off treatment and found that children offtreatment reported more concerns about social competence [7]. Across groups, lower social acceptance was associated with higher ratings of aggression, somatization, and internalizing symptoms; medical variables (i.e., age at diagnosis, time since treatment) were unrelated to social functioning.…”

Social skills interventions for survivors of pediatric brain tumors: A review and reformulation

“…Social difficulties have been observed in relation to typically developing peers, those with other cancer diagnoses, and youth with other chronic illnesses . Weaknesses in social functioning have been tied to neurocognitive deficits and increase over time . Theoretical models have been proposed to describe survivors’ social problems, and hypothesize that social skill deficits may underlie broad social adjustment concerns.…”

“…9 Weaknesses in social functioning have been tied to neurocognitive deficits 10,14-16 and increase over time. 5,17,18 Theoretical models have been proposed to describe survivors' social problems, 10,19 and hypothesize that social skill deficits may underlie broad social adjustment concerns. Ultimately, these social problems contribute to adult survivors falling behind typically developing peers and survivors of other cancers in the achievement of social milestones such as higher education, independent living, vocational success, and dating/marriage.…”

The impact of connectedness on social functioning in youth with brain tumors

“…3,4 Abbreviations: BT, brain tumor; CI, confidence interval; HMAC, Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness; ITR-2, Intensity of Treatment Rating Scale, 2.0; SEARS, Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales Within the realm of social functioning, significant research has focused on areas of deficit experienced by survivors of BT, with several theoretical models 5,6 proposed to describe and explain survivors' deficits. Commonly reported concerns include loneliness, social isolation, and teasing, [7][8][9] as well as deficits in social skills such as problem-solving and affect recognition. 6,10 Additional research has focused on risk factors, including treatment modalities such as radiation therapy, 11 demographic factors such as female gender, 7,11 and the presence of neurocognitive deficits.…”