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Emotional distress in parents of long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract


Objective:

The current study investigated the occurrence of emotional distress in parents of long-term
survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and identified factors associated with parent
emotional distress symptoms.


Methods:

Parents of 127 long-term survivors of childhood ALL treated on a chemotherapy-only
protocol at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital participated in the study. Parents completed standard
ratings of emotional distress, caregiver strain, and child physical, emotional, and psychosocial
functioning. Multivariable hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to examine associations
between symptoms of caregiver strain, survivor functioning, and parent emotional distress. Covariates
included parent education, survivor age, survivor sex, and time since childhood cancer diagnosis.
Results: On average, few parents reported significant symptoms of emotional distress. Clinically significant
levels of anxiety and depression were reported by 7.1% and 3.1% of parents, respectively.
Only 3.9% of parents endorsed significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Perceived caregiver
strain was significantly associated with symptoms of parent anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic
stress. Parent-report of child emotional functioning was significantly associated with symptoms of parent
anxiety.


Conclusions:

Most parents of long-term survivors of ALL exhibit low levels of emotional distress in
the context of rates observed in the general population. Perceived caregiver strain was significantly associated
with parent emotional distress. Further research is required to examine specific sources of
caregiver strain, as well as other risk and protective factors associated with parent emotional distress
symptoms.

Auteur: 
Adele V. Malpert, Cara Kimberg, Joshua Luxton, Larry L. Mullins, Ching-Hon Pui, Melissa M. Hudson, Kevin R. Krull and Tara M. Brinkman
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