Parenting a child with cancer: a couple-based approach

Abstract

Couples co-parenting a child with cancer face significant stressors that can adversely affect their couple relationship. How parents respond as a couple may affect the psychological adjustment of each parent and the child, as well as the ability of the family to cope with the child's illness. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a couple-based intervention for parents of children with cancer. We conducted a randomized pilot intervention study (N = 21 couples randomized with a 2:1 allocation to the couple-based intervention or education control) testing a sixsession, telephone-based intervention that trained couples in relationship skills to help them care for their child, strengthen their relationship, and support each other. We examined feasibility and acceptability of the intervention to the parents. In this study, 56% of eligible couples agreed to participate; 82% of randomized couples completed post-intervention surveys, and 62% completed all six sessions. Satisfaction with the intervention was high (mean = 3.3 on a 4-point scale). Changes in both groups were small in magnitude and mixed in direction, with some outcomes favoring the couple-based intervention and other favoring the education condition. Supporting couples is important to optimize individual and parental functioning when a child has cancer. However, there are significant challenges to delivering couple-based interventions to these parents. More research is needed to establish optimal timing and content of couple-based interventions for these parents as well as feasible methods of delivery.

Hilfreiche psychosoziale Unterstützung für Eltern in der pädiatrischen Onkologie

“…In einer Studie zur Nutzung einer Webseite für betroffene Familien wurde jedoch ebenfalls eine geringe Inanspruchnahme berichtet [4]. Psychosoziale Interventionen sollten bei Bedarf Aspekte der elterlichen Paarbeziehung beinhalten, aber auch hier wurden in Studien bereits Herausforderungen beschrieben, die mit der dyadischen Arbeit innerhalb des elterlichen Paarsettings einhergehen [16]. Ein dyadisches Setting ist inhaltlich im Sinne der Steigerung der Familienkohäsion und kommunikativer Fähigkeiten wünschenswert, aber im Sinne der organisatorischen Hürden vielfach unmöglich.…”

Researching the Experiences of Children with Cancer: Considerations for Practice

“…Epidemiology, psychology, biology, and genetics are just a few areas researching the unique experiences of children with cancer [35]. Other areas of study for this population include parenting concerns [36], cognitive and neuropsychological functioning [37], and patient experiences within and outside of the hospital [38]. Both social science and clinical research traditions acknowledge the challenges in striking a balance between protecting the vulnerabilities of young research participants and respecting their autonomy [5,33].…”

Introduction to the special issue on child and family health: the role of behavioral medicine in understanding and optimizing child health

“…Parents' functioning as a couple has received limited attention in prior pediatric oncology interventions, despite evidence that the couple's relationship can suffer when a child has cancer and consequently may have negative impacts on other family members including the child. Intervention acceptability was high [18]. Mothers in the relationship enhancement group reported improvements in their individual adjustment and parenting self-efficacy; however, most relationship-or dyadic-related improvements reported by both mothers and fathers, as well as individual adjustment improvements among fathers, were observed among couples that received the comparison intervention [18].…”

“…The last two articles in this section are focused on children diagnosed with cancer and their families. Porter et al [18] piloted a new telephone-delivered intervention for parents (couples) of children diagnosed with cancer that aimed to strengthen and promote their relationship as a couple and their roles in caring for a child with cancer. Parents' functioning as a couple has received limited attention in prior pediatric oncology interventions, despite evidence that the couple's relationship can suffer when a child has cancer and consequently may have negative impacts on other family members including the child.…”

“…Intervention acceptability was high [18]. Mothers in the relationship enhancement group reported improvements in their individual adjustment and parenting self-efficacy; however, most relationship-or dyadic-related improvements reported by both mothers and fathers, as well as individual adjustment improvements among fathers, were observed among couples that received the comparison intervention [18]. Harper et al [19] propose a new conceptual model for understanding how children diagnosed with cancer and their parents cope with the child's cancer-related treatment episodes which can be stressful, invasive, and painful.…”