Purpose/objectives: To describe the relationships among parent anxiety, child anxiety, and emotional adjustment in children who have a parent with cancer.
Design: Correlational.
Setting: A large cancer center in the southeastern United States.
Sample: Thirty-three child/parent with cancer dyads.
Methods: Research packets were mailed to child/parent dyads who agreed to participate in the study. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire, a Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale, and a Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). Children completed the child version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale.
Main research variables: Parent anxiety, child anxiety, and child adjustment.
Findings: Children who have a parent with cancer and parents who have experienced cancer report significantly higher state and trait anxiety compared to a normed population sample. Parental reports on the PIC indicated that latency-aged children (i.e., 6-12 years) showed significantly greater internalization and somatic symptoms compared to the sample norm. Parent state anxiety was negatively correlated with children's internalization and somatic symptoms. Parental anxiety accounted for the greatest variance in child adjustment.
Implications for nursing practice: These study findings may provide nurses with a better understanding of the vulnerability of children who have a parent with cancer and can build a foundation for the development of supportive interventions for these children.