Disease-related Parenting Stress in the Post-treatment Phase of Pediatric Cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Parenting stress is generally associated with poorer psychological adjustment in caregivers and children with chronic illness. Although parenting stress in pediatric cancer has been previously demonstrated, few studies have investigated this problem when treatments end. The present study aimed to describe disease-related parenting stress in the post-treatment phase of pediatric cancer, and to analyze the role of parents’ age and education, family functioning, and perceived child vulnerability in predicting disease-related parenting stress. The study comprised 56 parents of children with cancer, in the post-treatment phase, who completed a clinical and demographic questionnaire, as well as the Pediatric Inventory for Parents, assessing parenting stress, the Child Perceived Vulnerability Scale, and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale-Version IV. Results revealed that the level of disease-related parenting stress in the post-treatment phase was still significant. Emotional stress scores were especially high, further showing that parents’ concerns in this phase focus mainly on the long-term impact of the disease and treatments, involving intense feelings of fear and uncertainty. A model with four predictors was tested using regression analysis, which explained 57% of parenting stress variance. More specifically, findings indicated that parental age and education significantly predicted parenting stress, accounting for over one-third of the variance in this outcome. Family functioning and perceived child vulnerability explained an additional 18% of parenting stress. Findings of this study suggest that even when treatment ends, there is still the need for continued support in order to assist parents’ ability to deal with the implications of having a child who had cancer. Importantly, special attention should be given in clinical practice to the family functioning and to parents’ beliefs about their child’s vulnerability.