Keywords

quality of life, pediatric cancer, concordance among raters

Abstract

Advancements made in the treatment of the physiological aspects of childhood cancer have resulted in a greater need to conceptualize the disease psychologically as a chronic illness that causes significant stress and requires ongoing adjustment. This study investigates the relationships among parental characteristics, child characteristics, and the quality of life of children diagnosed with cancer. Forty-seven mothers and sixteen fathers, as well as nineteen children diagnosed with cancer, completed measures of their own psychological functioning. Measures of the diagnosed children's quality of life also were completed. Mothers' ratings of their children's quality of life were found to be correlated positively with both fathers' and children's ratings. In addition, a significant relationship was found between mothers' depression and parenting stress and children's quality of life, as well as mothers' and fathers' anxiety and children's quality of life. Finally, mothers', fathers', and children's ratings of their own characteristics predicted significantly their ratings of children's quality of life. Overall, these results suggested the importance of examining the psychological characteristics of family members when assessing the quality of life of children with cancer.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2005

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Renk, Kimberly

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Psychology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000415

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000415

Language

English

Release Date

January 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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