Original Article

You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Prevalence and predictors of emotional and behavioural functioning of children where a parent has cancer†

A multinational study

  1. Mikael Thastum PhD1,*,
  2. Maggie Watson2,
  3. Christian Kienbacher3,
  4. Jorma Piha4,
  5. Barbara Steck5,
  6. Robert Zachariae1,
  7. Christiane Baldus6,
  8. Georg Romer6

Article first published online: 10 JUN 2009

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24449

Issue

Cancer

Cancer

Volume 115, Issue 17, pages 4030–4039, 1 September 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Thastum, M., Watson, M., Kienbacher, C., Piha, J., Steck, B., Zachariae, R., Baldus, C. and Romer, G. (2009), Prevalence and predictors of emotional and behavioural functioning of children where a parent has cancer. Cancer, 115: 4030–4039. doi: 10.1002/cncr.24449

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Denmark

  2. 2

    Psychological Medicine Service, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and Institute of Cancer Research, London & Sutton, United Kingdom

  3. 3

    Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria

  4. 4

    Child Psychiatry Clinic, University and University Hospital of Turku, Finland

  5. 5

    Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Basel University Hospital, Switzerland

  6. 6

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

*Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

  1. †

    This study is part of an international multisite research project supported by a grant from the European Union in its fifth Framework Program.” Quality of Life” (QLGT-2001-02378): “Mental Health Prevention in a Target Group at Risk: Children of Somatically Ill Parents (COSIP)”. The following institutions and principal investigators collaborated in this project: Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (Dr. med. Georg Romer); Dept. of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria (Prof. Dr. med. M. Friedrich); Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Denmark (M. Thastum, Ph. D.); Child Psychiatry Clinic, Turku University Hospital, Finland (Prof. Dr. J. Piha); Department of Child Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, Greece (Prof. Dr. J. Tsiantis); Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania (Prof. Dr. S. Milea); Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Basle University Hospital, Switzerland (PD Dr. B. Steck); Department of Psychological Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, United Kingdom (M. Watson, Ph. D.).

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 AUG 2009
  2. Article first published online: 10 JUN 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 28 JAN 2009
  4. Manuscript Received: 19 NOV 2008
  5. Manuscript Revised: 19 NOV 2008

Funded by

  • European Union in its fifth Framework Program “Quality of Life”. Grant Number: QLGT-2001-02378

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (143K)

Keywords:

  • family;
  • parent;
  • children;
  • adolescent;
  • family function;
  • internalizing problems;
  • externalizing problems

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

This study aimed to evaluate prevalence and risk factors for emotional and behavioral problems in dependent children of cancer patients using a multinational research design.

METHODS:

The sample comprised 350 ill parents, 250 healthy partners, and 352 children. Parents assessed the child's psychological functioning using the Child Behavior Checklist, parental depression using the Beck Depression Inventory, family functioning using the General Functioning subscale of the Family Assessment Device, quality of life using short-form questionnaire, and adolescents (N = 168) self-reported psychological functioning using the Youth Self Report.

RESULTS:

Children and adolescents, in particular latency-aged boys and adolescent girls, were of higher risk of psychosocial problems than norms. There was a higher risk of problems when the father was ill than when the mother was ill, but it remains unclear whether this difference was due to the different diagnoses of fathers and mothers, gender or other factors. The best predictor of internalizing problems in children and adolescents was parental depression, and the best predictor of externalizing problems in children and adolescents was family dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results indicate the need for a family-oriented approach to psychological support of cancer patients. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (143K)