Centrality of the Childhood Cancer Experience and Its Relation to Post-traumatic Stress and Growth

Overview

Journal Psychooncology

Publisher Wiley

Specialties Oncology
Psychology

Date 2020 Nov 24

PMID 33232545

Citations 6

Authors

Jessica L Cook

Kathryn Russell

Alanna Long

Sean Phipps

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Event centrality, the degree to which a traumatic event is perceived as central to one's identity, has been associated with post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and post-traumatic growth (PTG) outcomes in various trauma samples. Trauma frameworks are widely used to understand the psychological impact of pediatric cancer; however, event centrality has not been studied in this population. We investigated event centrality in pediatric cancer survivors and healthy comparisons, and its relation with PTS and PTG outcomes.

Method: Cancer survivors, age 13-23 (N = 196) and healthy comparisons (N = 131) completed the Centrality of Events Scale and PTS and PTG measures in reference to their most traumatic life event. Cancer survivors who first identified a non-cancer-related event repeated all measures in reference to cancer.

Results: Centrality scores were significantly higher when referencing cancer compared to non-cancer events, even in survivors for whom cancer was not rated as most stressful (53.1%). Centrality scores for non-cancer events were not significantly different between survivors and healthy comparisons. Event centrality showed significant positive relations to both PTS and PTG outcomes.

Conclusion: The pediatric cancer experience is perceived as central to survivors' identity regardless of whether the experience is perceived as highly traumatic. Centrality of cancer is a significant predictor of both positive and negative psychological outcomes in cancer survivors.

Citing Articles

Psychological Experiences of Parents of Pediatric Cancer Patients during and after COVID-19 Pandemic.

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Exploring the Effects of Cancer as a Traumatic Event on Italian Adolescents and Young Adults: Investigating Psychological Well-Being, Identity Construction and Coping Strategies.

Ionio C, Bigoni F, Sacchi M, Zecca M, Bergami E, Landoni M Pediatr Rep. 2023; 15(1):254-262.

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Posttraumatic growth in children aged 8-18 years with malignancies in China.

Liu Y, Liu Q, Yu L, Mo L BMC Pediatr. 2022; 22(1):742.

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Efficacy of a smartphone-based care support programme in improving post-traumatic stress in families with childhood cancer: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Ma J, Qian H, Peng Y, Xiang Y, Yang M, Hahne J BMJ Open. 2022; 12(9):e060629.

PMID: 36137628 PMC: 9511543. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060629.

Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors: A Report from Children's Oncology Group AHOD0031.

Werk R, Koyama T, Sun L, Wolden S, Kelly K, Constine L J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2022; 12(3):359-365.

PMID: 36094417 PMC: 10282797. DOI: 10.1089/jayao.2022.0053.

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