This research provides evidence that the active engagement of children's imaginations through the use of a computer-drawing tool may have significant therapeutic value for children with cancer. As well, the findings support the importance of nurses "being there" for young patients with cancer in their time of despair.

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BackgroundAnxiety can create serious disruption in the life and mind of youth who are affected. Youth living with anxiety suffer a wealth of physical and psychological challenges, yet little is known about how anxiety influences the sense of the self. The purpose of this research was to explore the experience of the self in a sample of Canadian youth living with anxiety. Materials and methodsThe qualitative research approach of hermeneutic phenomenology was used. The sample consisted of 58 Canadian youth with anxiety, 44 females and 14 males between the ages of 10 and 22. Youth took part in open-ended interviewing, ecomaps, and photovoice. Data analysis followed a staged process, informed by Max van Manen. All sources of data were included in the analysis to form thematic statements.

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between maternal stress, parenting behavior, and sibling adjustment in relation to child trauma symptoms in families with and without a history of intimate partner violence (IPV). Maternal report was used to measure maternal stress and child trauma symptoms, whereas parenting behavior was assessed through an observational measure. Participants consisted of mothers with 2 school-age siblings recruited from the community. Results indicated that violent families reported higher levels of maternal stress and sibling trauma symptoms than nonviolent families, although no differences were found in parenting behavior. Sibling trauma symptoms and negative maternal behavior toward a sibling were strong predictors of trauma symptoms in younger siblings exposed to IPV but only modest predictors for older siblings. Moderator analyses showed that in IPV-affected families, the trauma symptoms of older siblings were related to the trauma symptoms of younger siblings when maternal stress was high.