Background Cancer is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. The National Cancer Registry of Ireland reported in 2015 that there were 9312 new cases of female cancers per year, breast cancer being the most common type diagnosed. Research has identified that parental cancer is a stressful situation that can have a strong impact on adolescents' lives; however, some adolescents can turn a negative event into a way of enhancing their skills and psychological resources. This variability needs to be explored further to identify how individual differences contribute to different adjustment experiences for adolescents whose mothers are diagnosed with cancer, namely differences in adolescent coping, self‐efficacy, social support, life satisfaction, and attachment. Aim The objective of this study was to examine the relative impact of perceived stress, coping, perceived social support, maternal attachment, and self‐efficacy on adolescent adjustment (mood and life satisfaction). Method Data was collected from 40 adolescents within 38 months of a maternal cancer diagnosis. They completed online questionnaires assessing perceived stress, coping, perceived social support, attachment, self‐efficacy, and adjustment (life satisfaction, negative affect, positive affect, depression, and anxiety). Results Hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceived stress and coping were the strongest predictors of adjustment explaining variance on all adjustment indices. Maternal attachment, perceived social support, and self‐efficacy were less powerful predictors of adjustment. The model, however, failed to explain any variance on depression and anxiety. Moderation analyses revealed that social support moderated the relationship between perceived stress and positive affect for adolescents with high levels of perceived social support. Conclusions Findings show that lower perceived stress and positive coping were the best predictors of adjustment in adolescents facing maternal cancer. Results suggest that adolescents could be screened for levels of perceived stress and coping style to identify adolescents who are at risk of poor adjustment when they are adjusting to maternal cancer.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the methodological challenges in the design and implementation of an emotionally sensitive topic involving research with adolescents based on a study evaluating the experiences of adolescents and families facing a diagnosis of maternal cancer. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper builds an argument based on experiences from the field of qualitative data collection with adolescents and builds on arguments that were identified in the literature to provide with a detailed argument on the methodological challenges that researchers can face while undertaking sensitive research with young people. Findings Carrying out research on sensitive topics is challenging because rigour can be affected by real people experiencing pain, sorrow and other emotions linked to sensitive and difficult moments in their lives. Researchers need to decide how they will deal with the emotional impact that these topics can have on them as people but also continue to carry out high quality research. Originality/value This paper adds to the current body of knowledge by describing the challenges faced in the field carrying out data on sensitive issues with adolescents but it also provides alternatives and solutions on how these limitations can be overcome from early stages of the research design until the dissemination of results.

Purpose-As an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth understanding of adolescent experiences of maternal cancer to identify the individual and contextual factors that shape adolescent experiences and evaluates the potential applicability of the Family Ecology Model to the illness context. Design/methodology/approach-This analysis is focussed on three female adolescents who completed semi-structured interviews, which were subjected to IPA. Maternal illness is a challenge for adolescents, which can be improved or undermined by their contexts. The analysis yielded three sub-themes: family structure, social supports, experiencing maternal cancer at a time of transition and the lasting impact of cancer. Findings-This study found that adolescent experiences of maternal cancer depend on their contexts from an ecological perspective the type and quality of adolescent interactions determine coping and adjustment. Maternal cancer can be difficult as adolescents are already facing specific developmental challenges. Future research can benefit from adopting an ecological perspective to further understand adolescent experiences to support adolescent that may be more vulnerable and benefit from additional supports. This is not a generalisable piece of research but it provides a very deep and detailed understanding of the impact of maternal cancer on adolescents' developmental course and determines how the complexity of their contexts can serve as a risk or a protective factor at this challenging time. Originality/value-This paper contributes to the body of research by providing a comprehensive understanding of adolescents facing maternal cancer. The Ecological Model supports the findings of this research and proves to be a good model to understand the complex interplay between adolescents and their environments when facing a difficult challenge like maternal cancer is.

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Background: Adolescents that experience parental cancer can have significant difficulties and may be at a greater risk of emotional and behavioural problems; however, some studies have found that this experience can also be empowering and can promote positive growth. Open communication specifically has been associated with coping and less psychological distress in adolescents experiencing parental cancer.Aims: The aim of this study is to identify communication patterns in adolescents that faced maternal cancer to provide recommendations for practice on how best to support adolescents at this challenging time.Methods: Adolescents (n = 15) completed semistructured interviews with the main researcher to explore their experiences at the time of maternal cancer. Specifically, this study is a qualitative secondary thematic analysis. Results: The term "selective sharing" was coined to characterise adolescent communication patterns, as they selected who they wished to talk to and how much information about maternal illness they shared. Barriers for adolescent open communication included perceived unavailability of their mothers to talk, fear, geographical separation from their families, previous family communication patterns, and the time since maternal diagnosis. Benefits of open communication included access to affection, support and information, as well as validation of their emotions and improved coping. Adolescents also provided recommendations to peers and practitioners based on their own experiences. Conclusions: Adolescent communication patterns need to be evaluated as this can impact on their ability to cope with maternal cancer diagnosis. Practitioners can facilitate and encourage open communication, including both factual information about cancer and the emotions and thoughts adhered to this experience for adolescents, mothers, friends, and their families to support them at this challenging time.

Background: Research findings on the impact of parental cancer on adolescents are inconsistent, some studies identifying negative psychosocial impact but others identifying positive impact; however, there is not enough understanding on the underlying factors that may lead to differences in outcomes. Research has found that resilience has a role in adolescents' adaptation to maternal cancer; however, the nature of this requires further exploration.Aims: This analysis will help understand resilience in adolescents that experience maternal cancer by exploring the nature of resilience and the individual, family, and environmental risk and protective factors that determine resilience in adolescent lived experiences of maternal cancer that enable positive outcomes.Methods: This study is part of a larger investigation focused on understanding adolescent adjustment to maternal cancer and the psychosocial factors that promote adjustment. Original adolescent interview transcripts (n = 15) were subject to a secondary thematic analysis. Results: The analysis yielded four themes: the first theme, The Journey of Maternal Cancer, describes adolescent experiences of maternal cancer over time; the second theme is a detailed description of adolescent Protective Factors and how these supported the adolescents; the third theme describes the Risk Factors that adolescents faced; and the fourth theme summarizes the Positive Outcomes that adolescents self-identified. Conclusion: This study found resilience as dynamic, as it changes over time. These changes are a result of the course of maternal illness and its treatment over time.Adolescents can adapt to change, but this capacity is shaped by protective factors and risk factors as well as challenges that are unique to having a mother diagnosed with cancer. Most adolescents managed to navigate successfully and identified positive outcomes from a difficult and life-changing experience. The study suggests the need to provide long-term supports for adolescents and carry out longitudinal research to further understand the trajectories of resilience in adolescents who experience maternal cancer.

In the context of a global pandemic which has witnessed a significant increase in domestic violence, and therefore has also increased the demand for support provision; this article is reporting on the impact of a domestic violence, abuse and coercive control training targeted at counselors. This nonexperimental pre/post/follow-up comparison provides evidence for the capacity of training programs to equip counselors with the knowledge and skills to increase awareness and work effectively with clients experiencing domestic violence and their families. Organizational and personal characteristics support the work of practitioners in this field; however, challenges identified still need to be addressed.