Self-Control, Anxiety, and Loneliness in Siblings of Children with Cancer

Abstract

This study deals with sibling emotional response to the stress of childhood cancer in a brother or sister. Sixty-two healthy siblings aged 9 to 18 participated in the study. The children were asked to complete self-report questionnaires on state anxiety, loneliness, and self-control. The findings showed that the stress elicited emotional responses. Anxiety was related to the child's age and duration of the sibling's cancer, and loneliness was related to the child's sex and rank in the family. The outcomes also demonstrated a link between self-control as a coping skill and anxiety and loneliness as emotional distress responses. Healthy siblings' higher self-control rates were associated with their lower anxiety and loneliness reports. These findings support Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory on stress, appraisal, and coping. The results also highlight the need to train and impart children with learned resourcefulness in order to increase their self-control skills and improve their coping with and adjustment to siblings' serious illness.

Relationship between Impulsivity, Social Media Usage and Loneliness

“…Self-control is regarded as a crucial dimension of impulsivity (Spinella, 2007). According to Hamama, Ronen, and Feigin (2000), individuals with high levels of self-control experience lower levels of loneliness. Fujisawa, Nishitani, Ishii, and Shinohara (2010) also emphasize that impulsivity is positively related to loneliness.…”

Kayıp ve Yas Sürecinde Kardeşler

“…Yas sürecinde, kardeşlerde agresif patlamalar ve davranış problemleri görülebi-lir. 15,16 Çocukların kayba ilişkin ilk gösterdikleri tepkiler genellikle; şok ve inanmama, korku ve itiraz, hissizlik ve donup kalma ya da her zamanki günlük yaşam aktivitelerini sürdürme/ yadsıma şeklinde olabilmekte ve yas sürecinde çocuklar çoğu zaman kaygı, uykuya dalmada güçlük, üzüntü ve özlem, öfke ve saldırganlık, suçluluk, okul başarısında düşme ve fiziksel şikayetler yaşayabilmektedirler.…”

“…Bu durum aileye yakın diğer kişiler için de geçerlidir (aile büyükleri, arkadaşlar vb.). 15,32 Tüm bu zaman boyunca sağ-lıklı kardeşler görünmez olduklarını hissedebilmekte ve bu durum onların korku, öfke, anksiyete ya da depresyon yaşamalarına neden olabilmektedir. 33 Ayrıca küçük çocuklar, kardeşleri öldü-ğünde özellikle yakın zamanda onlara sinirlenmiş ve ölmelerini dilemiş olabilmeleri nedeniyle aşırı suçluluk duyabilirler.…”

Life balance in adult healthy siblings of individuals with childhood cancer.

“…These findings were supported by Zeltzer et al (2008). One study (Hamama et al, 2000) did not find differences between male and female healthy siblings in loneliness or anxiety. The research suggests that in cases where there are gender differences in healthy sibling outcomes, it is the females who report higher levels of impairment (Alderfer et al, 2003;Alderfer & Hodges, 2010;Houtzager et al, 2004Houtzager et al, , 2005Zebrack et al, 2002Zebrack et al, , 2004Zebrack et al, , 2007.…”

“…Hamama, Ronen, and Feigin (2000) found that anxiety decreased the further away from diagnosis. Healthy siblings of a child with cancer who had been ill for a smaller period of time were more anxious than those whose siblings had cancer for a longer period.…”