Relationship status and quality of the partner relationship in parents of long‐term childhood cancer survivors: The Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study‐Parents

Abstract

Objective: The intensive and long-lasting experience of childhood cancer is a tremendous stressor for the parental relationship. We aimed to (1) compare civil status and partner relationship of parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors with population-based comparisons, (2) identify cancer-related characteristics associated with not being married, and (3) evaluate the quality of the partner relationship. Methods:We sent questionnaires to parents of survivors aged ≤16 years at diagnosis and ≥20 years at study. Population-based comparisons were derived from a random sample of the general population (≥1 child aged ≥20 years) and standardized by sociodemographic characteristics of survivor parents. We used logistic regression to identify cancer-related characteristics associated with not being married. The quality of the partner relationship was evaluated using the relationship-specific attachment scale for adults assessing the dimensions security (secure-fearful) and dependency (dependent-independent).Results: A total of 784 parents (58.9% mothers) of 512 survivors (response rate: 44.0%) and 471 comparison parents completed the questionnaire. Parents of survivors were less often divorced/separated (9.0% vs 17.5%, P < 0.001) and more often in a partner relationship (89.9% vs 85.0%, P = 0.010) than comparisons. Not being married was not associated with cancer-related characteristics. Parents of survivors reported similar security (P = 0.444) but higher dependency (P = 0.032) within the partner relationship than comparisons. In both populations, fathers indicated higher security and dependency than mothers.Conclusions: Long after the diagnosis of cancer in their child, parents' relationship appears similar as in parents of the general population. The increased dependency reported by parents of survivors suggests that they managed their child's disease as a team.

Returning to daily life: a qualitative interview study on parents of childhood cancer survivors in Germany

“…Most parents adapted well to cancer-related changes in their partner relationship and reported a strengthened bond. A recent large-scale study which investigated the relationship status and quality of parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors found an increased dependency within the partner relationship in terms of solving problems together and having a particularly close relationship 32. Our qualitative results show that these effects already occur in an early stage of survivorship.…”

Determinants of health-related quality of life proxy rating disagreement between caregivers of children with cancer

“…Yet a previous study also found differences in agreement on and off treatment, although this study investigated child proxy agreement instead of parental agreement [19]. Especially during the child's cancer treatment the primary caregiver is likely to be more closely involved with the child than the second caregiver [32,33]. It might be that this could either enhance or relieve the worries of the second parent, considering the bidirectional differences that we found in the proxy ratings, but this warrants further research.…”

Gender‐specific differences in parental health‐related quality of life in childhood cancer

“…41 Additionally, a recent study in parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors showed greater dependency in the parental relationship as compared to population-based controls, with mothers being the primary caregivers and fathers the breadwinners. 42 In our study sample, mean hour of employment was 24 h for employed mothers versus 38 h for fathers. Moreover, more mothers in our study reported parenting problems when compared to fathers (37% vs 24%, respectively), which might also indicate that mothers were more closely involved in the caregiving process.…”

“…Furthermore, results of a Dutch study in parents of children with a chronic illness showed that caring for an ill child leads to an even wider gap between maternal and paternal labor force participation . Additionally, a recent study in parents of long‐term childhood cancer survivors showed greater dependency in the parental relationship as compared to population‐based controls, with mothers being the primary caregivers and fathers the breadwinners …”