Psychosocial characteristics of adolescents who refuse cancer treatment.

Abstract

Psychosocial variables were examined by comparing 10 adolescents (and their mothers) who had refused cancer treatment with a group of 10 consenting adolescents who were matched on demographic and illness variables. Adolescent refusers scored lower on State Anxiety and Subjective Distress but scored higher on Trait Anxiety, Religiosity, and External Locus of Control. Their mothers also scored higher than did the consenting-group mothers on Religiosity and Trait Anxiety. Refusers appear prone to anxiety and cope with present distress by maintaining the belief that their lives are determined by fate or religious convictions. An intervention approach that fosters mastery over the cancer experience is advocated.

The adolescent cancer experience: loss of control and benefit finding

“…1980) and may be associated with poor cooperation (Jamison et al. 1986) and treatment refusal (Blotcky et al. 1985).…”

“…Perceived external control is a belief that outcomes are under the control of other people or uncontrollable forces whereas perceived internal control is a belief that outcomes are the result of one's behaviour (Rotter 1966). Higher levels of external control have been found in adolescents with chronic illnesses including cancer when compared with healthy peers (Kellerman et al 1980) and may be associated with poor cooperation (Jamison et al 1986) and treatment refusal (Blotcky et al 1985). Higher levels of internal control are thought to be related to higher levels of hopefulness and potentially improved psychosocial adaptation in adolescents with cancer (Hinds et al 2000).…”

Cultural and Religious Variation in Attitudes to Young People Consenting to Health Interventions

“…Cultural factors shape the value people place on medical treatment, influencing the extent to which the involvement of children in treatment decision-making is accepted (Blotcky et al 1985;Chesler et al 1986). When taking the sample as a whole, four out of the five vignettes had mean ages above 14 years (when participants thought they should be given permission to choose the treatment), and permission was refused in significant proportions (ranging from almost 10%, for the psychotherapy vignette, to almost 45% for the contraceptive one).…”

Dimensionality, hierarchical structure, age generalizability, and criterion validity of the GAIN's Behavioral Complexity Scale.

“…Especially in the measurement context, it also implies a hierarchical structure (grading) of symptom severity. While there is some controversy over the complex relationships of ADHD and CD symptoms, e.g., whether CD is simply a more severe form of ADHD, whether CD develops as children with ADHD get older, whether there are both separate diagnoses of ADHD and CD as well as a hybrid of the two (Szatmari, Boyle, & Offord, 1989), it is increasingly common to subsume these disorders under the unidimensional construct of externalizing disorders (Cohen, Gotlieb, Kershner, & Wehrspann, 1985; Rapport, LaFond, & Sivo, 2009). …”