Department of Woman and Child Health, Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Psychooncology. 2013 Feb;22(2):324-9. doi: 10.1002/pon.2091. Epub 2011 Oct 21.
A child's cancer can lead to changes in parental role functioning, including loss of control. We studied the extent to which parental perceived loss of control during a child's cancer treatment predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after completion of treatment.
The sample of this longitudinal study included 62 parents (36 mothers and 26 fathers) of children currently in treatment for malignant disease (T1) and after completion of treatment (T2). Loss of control was assessed at T1 using a self-report measure, that is the loss of control module of the Parental Psychosocial Distress-Cancer questionnaire. PTSS were assessed at T2 using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Main analyses were carried out for mothers and fathers separately.
The majority of the parents, 55% (n = 34), reported loss of control on more than half of the assessed domains. Only 5% (n = 3) reported no loss of control whatsoever. At T2, some degree of PTSS was reported by 89% (n = 55). These outcomes were similar for mothers and fathers. Loss of control at T1 predicted stronger PTSS at T2 primarily among mothers.
The experience of loss of control during cancer treatment is a salient risk factor for later PTSS in mothers. The situational threat to the regular parental role is discussed as an explanation to this observation. Interventions should address informational needs, parent participation in care, and professional support to maintain a sense of control and functioning in their parental role.
儿童癌症可能导致父母角色功能发生变化，包括失去控制。我们研究了儿童癌症治疗期间父母感知到的失控程度在治疗完成后对创伤后应激症状（PTSS）的预测作用。
这项纵向研究的样本包括 62 名正在接受恶性疾病治疗的儿童的父母（36 名母亲和 26 名父亲）（T1）和治疗完成后（T2）。在 T1 时使用自我报告的父母心理困扰-癌症问卷的失控模块评估失控。在 T2 使用修订后的事件影响量表-R 评估创伤后应激症状。主要分析分别针对母亲和父亲进行。
大多数父母（55%，n=34）在一半以上评估的领域报告了失控。只有 5%（n=3）报告没有任何失控。在 T2，有 89%（n=55）的父母报告了某种程度的创伤后应激症状。母亲和父亲的结果相似。T1 的失控预测了 T2 时更强的创伤后应激症状，主要发生在母亲中。
癌症治疗期间的失控体验是母亲日后创伤后应激症状的一个重要风险因素。讨论了这种观察结果的解释，即对常规父母角色的情境威胁。干预措施应满足信息需求、父母参与护理以及专业支持，以维持其父母角色的控制感和功能。
