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Stress and Coping Research Lab

Project Description (6)

Pediatric Cancer and Family Adjustment

Study Description

The diagnosis of cancer in a child is a significantly stressful experience for not only the young cancer patient, but also family members and their relationships. Families may experience considerable conflict as they adapt to changes in roles and routines, make treatment decisions for the child, and attempt to cope with the stress of a potentially life-threatening illness within the family. In turn, interfamily conflict can hinder a family’s ability to work together to provide emotional support for the child and for each other following diagnosis and throughout the course of treatment. However, few empirical studies have investigated the role and nature of family conflict following a childhood cancer diagnosis and throughout the course of treatment. To address this gap in the literature, we will be using a multi-method approach to test a conceptual model in which it is predicted that the stress inherent in a cancer diagnosis and its treatment is associated with increased family conflict, which can consequently lead to poorer child and caregiver adjustment. We will additionally examine two potential buffering factors that we predict will protect cancer patients from the negative effects of family conflict – positive characteristics of the primary caregiver’s relationship with the patient and children’s emotion regulation abilities. This short-term prospective longitudinal study will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Washington and will use self-report, observational, and physiological methodology over a period of 12 months following diagnosis. Our goal is to identify the nature of conflict within the family, the vulnerable time points throughout treatment, and whether family conflict is associated with maladjustment in children with cancer and their caregivers.

Funding

Grant RO1CA134794 from the National Cancer Institute (Lynn Katz, PhD, University of Washington, PI)

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