Sawyer M, Antoniou G, Toogood I, Rice M
Department of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Australia.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Dec;36(12):1736-43. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199712000-00022.
To follow prospectively the psychological adjustment of young children, parents, and families during the first 2 years after the children's diagnosis of cancer.
Children aged 2 to 5 years with cancer diagnoses and their parents and families (n = 38) were assessed immediately after diagnosis, 1 year after diagnosis, and 2 years after diagnosis. At each assessment, the psychological adjustment of the children and their families was compared with the adjustment of a cohort of children and families in the general community (n = 39).
Children with cancer and their parents experienced significantly more emotional distress than children and parents in the community during the period immediately after diagnosis. However, the number of problems experienced by the children with cancer and their parents declined during the first year after the children's diagnosis and stabilized at a level comparable with that found among children and parents in the general community.
Although the results are consistent with reports that suggest that in the longer term the prevalence of psychological problems among children with cancer is similar to that found among children in the general community, they also highlight the considerable distress experienced by children and parents during the period immediately after the children's diagnosis.
前瞻性地跟踪幼儿、父母及家庭在孩子被诊断患有癌症后的头两年内的心理调适情况。
对年龄在2至5岁且被诊断患有癌症的儿童及其父母和家庭（n = 38）在诊断后即刻、诊断后1年和诊断后2年进行评估。每次评估时，将这些儿童及其家庭的心理调适情况与普通社区中一组儿童及其家庭（n = 39）的调适情况进行比较。
在诊断后的即刻期间，患有癌症的儿童及其父母比社区中的儿童及其父母经历了明显更多的情绪困扰。然而，患有癌症的儿童及其父母所经历的问题数量在孩子诊断后的第一年有所下降，并稳定在与普通社区中儿童及其父母相当的水平。
尽管结果与那些表明从长期来看癌症患儿心理问题患病率与普通社区儿童相似的报告一致，但这些结果也凸显了儿童及其父母在孩子诊断后的即刻期间所经历的相当大的困扰。
