The Social Ecology of Adolescents’ Cancer Experience: A Narrative Review and Future Directions

Abstract

Smaller improvements in survival rates among adolescent patients with cancer relative to their pediatric and older adult counterparts are indicative of a need for greater research pertaining to their unique illness experience. Most recent studies focus on and implicate adolescent patients' distinct cancer biology and unmet needs for specialized treatment as likely explanations, but adolescent patients differ in other ways as well, namely in their intraand interpersonal contexts, or social ecology. Providing better treatment for adolescent cancer patients requires a better understanding of how their social ecology influences and is influenced by their illness. This narrative review provides evidence to support the need for adolescentspecific research focused on the interaction between adolescent patients' cancer experience, their developmental life stage, and the primary relationships within their family unit and healthcare settings. A brief overview of the relevance of each social ecological context is provided, and important considerations for future research efforts and interventions are presented. Conclusions encourage researchers to include adolescent cancer patients' social ecology in their investigations and clinical trials so as to offer this patient cohort the best care possible and eliminate their lag in survival rates.

Family-Related Factors Influencing Resilience of Korean Adolescents and Young Adults with Childhood Cancer: A cross-sectional study

“…The importance of the family environment in fostering pediatric cancer patients' adjustment to diagnosis is widely accepted among researchers [11,19,20]. In particular, the importance of the family environment has increased in Korean culture, described by Kim et al (2014) as a family-centered model [21].…”

Therapeutic Parent–Child Communication and Health Outcomes in the Childhood Cancer Context: A Scoping Review

“…Family support is among the diverse factors found to contribute to better quality of life [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Research has described the importance of the role of family in dealing with cancer-related distress and adjusting well to the cancer diagnosis by overcoming psychological challenges such as internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as anxiety in the childhood cancer context [ 7 ].…”

Support and conflict in relationships and psychological health in adolescents and young adults with cancer

“…Relationships with family, peers, and other important adults all uniquely contribute to AYAs’ psychological health (Sterrett et al, 2011). AYAs with cancer report family members to be their most prominent relationships, with primary caregivers providing the most support (Juth, 2016). At the same time, relationships with friends are also very important, as they provide a sense of normalcy that may otherwise be difficult to attain when undergoing cancer treatments (Galán et al, 2017).…”