Posttraumatic stress symptoms in Chinese children with ongoing cancer treatment and their parents: Are they elevated relative to healthy comparisons?
Yiling Yang
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaofeng He
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJinlu Chen
PICU, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiangyi Tan
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiangnan Meng
Department of Pediatrics, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorRuiqing Cai
Department Pediatric Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorLichan Liang
Department of Pediatric Hematology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lei Shi
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Correspondence
Lei Shi, PhD, School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, No.1023 Sha-Tai-Nan Road, Bai-Yun District, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorYiling Yang
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaofeng He
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJinlu Chen
PICU, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiangyi Tan
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiangnan Meng
Department of Pediatrics, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorRuiqing Cai
Department Pediatric Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorLichan Liang
Department of Pediatric Hematology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Lei Shi
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Correspondence
Lei Shi, PhD, School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, No.1023 Sha-Tai-Nan Road, Bai-Yun District, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Grant/Award Number: 2018030310417; Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen, Grant/Award Number: SZZYSM 202108013
Abstract
Objective
The objective of this work is to compare posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) between families of children on cancer treatment and families of healthy children in China and to analyse the association among child PTSS, parent PTSS, and depression in the cancer group.
Methods
Participants were children on cancer treatment (n = 91) and their parents (n = 91), and healthy children (n = 114) and their parents (n = 96). The children were asked to self-report PTSS, and the parents completed self-reported measures of PTSS and depression.
Results
Although the prevalence of probable PTSD in children on cancer treatment was higher than that in comparisons (8.79% vs. 0.88%, P < 0.01), no statistic differences in PTSS levels were found between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, significant differences in PTSS levels and the prevalence of severe PTSS (21.98% vs. 1.04%) between parents of children with cancer and comparisons were observed (P < 0.001). Parent PTSS and depression were positively associated with child PTSS in the cancer group (P < 0.01).
Conclusion
The prevalence of probable PTSD in Chinese children with cancer was low, but PTSS was remarkably prevalent in their parents. Greater parent PTSS and depression were related to greater child PTSS. Results underline the importance to provide supportive psychological care for Chinese parents of children undergoing cancer treatment.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
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