The Psychosocial Effect of Parental Cancer: Qualitative Interviews with Patients’ Dependent Children

Abstract

Background: Children living with parental cancer are at an increased risk for various psychosocial, emotional, and behavioural problems. However, research regarding how children are affected by their parent’s diagnosis is still developing and patients’ children are typically invisible in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate how children are affected by their parent’s cancer diagnosis, from children’s perspectives. Methods: Informed by methods of grounded theory and embedded within a social constructivist framework, twelve children (ranging from 5 to 17 years) living with a parent with cancer were interviewed using a semi-structured format assisted by a novel approach derived from play- and art-based developmental literature. Results: Findings indicate that patients’ children are constantly worried and distressed, and there are barriers that can be overcome to mitigate this. Four overarching themes were identified: (I) Feeling worried and distressed; (II) Comprehending their parent’s cancer diagnosis; (III) Being disconnected from their supports; and (IV) Needing someone to talk to. Conclusions: Children experience considerable levels of ongoing worry and distress when a parent is diagnosed with cancer and have difficulties comprehending and articulating this. They also feel a level of disconnection from their usual support systems (e.g., parents) and are limited regarding who they can seek out and talk to. Mitigating children’s ongoing worries and distress by promoting the availability and accessibility of parents and other supports to children, and reducing communication barriers between children and adults, should be a primary focus of psycho-oncology research and practice.

A Conceptual Model Depicting How Children Are Affected by Parental Cancer: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach

“…The interview schedules were guided by the research question, a general literature review, and findings from a systematic review [ 28 ]. Interview schedules are documented in the relevant publications (for HPs, see [ 41 ]; for parents, see [ 42 ]; and for children, see [ 43 ]) or see Supplementary File S1 . Interview durations were as follows: HPs: 43 min (M = 42.69 (±22) range: 14.32–82.52); parents: 46 min (M = 45.88 (±10), range: 27.36–73.14); and children: 38 min (M = 37.13 (±22), range: 17.57–71.44).…”

“…This was influenced by drawing- and arts-based approaches or techniques [ 44 , 45 ] which are used in participatory research within vulnerable child populations such as those affected by sexual abuse [ 46 , 47 ] and war [ 48 , 49 ], often due to their ability to promote recall [ 47 ]. For more details regarding this approach, please refer to [ 43 ].…”

“…Pseudonyms were used for all children’s names to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. For more details regarding the data collection processes, please refer to the relevant publications (for HPs, see [ 41 ]; for parents, see [ 42 ]; and for children, see [ 43 ].…”

“…For more details regarding the data analysis process. please refer to the relevant publications (for HPs, see [ 41 ]; for parents, see [ 42 ]; and for children, see [ 43 ]. Reference to guidelines and criteria outlined by Mays and Pope [ 51 ] and Braun and Clarke [ 52 ] promoted the rigour of analysis.…”

Adolescentes Que Experimentan Cáncer en Sus Padres: Un Estudio Cualitativo

“…En la adolescencia, tener un padre con cáncer puede afectar negativamente el ajuste psicosocial, provocando una menor calidad y satisfacción con la vida, así como cambios en el rendimiento escolar y estrés postraumático 2,4 . Se considera que los adolescentes son más susceptibles a experimentar CP 5 , ya que tienen una mayor percepción de la enfermedad de los padres.…”