What Promotes Positive Parenting During Breast Cancer? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Social Support, Emotion Regulation, and Meaning in Life

Overview

Journal Int J Behav Med

Publisher Informa Healthcare

Date 2023 Jul 6

PMID 37415037

Authors

L Kelada

O Zamir

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Motherhood and maintaining the child-parent relationship are top priorities for mothers with breast cancer (BC). The current study aimed to assess the positive intra- and inter-personal resources related to positive parenting among mothers with BC, as these may be promotive factors for positive parenting. Specifically, we examined whether social support (family, friend, spiritual), emotion regulation, and a sense of meaning in life are related to positive parenting among mothers undergoing BC treatments.

Methods: The sample consisted of 100 Israeli mothers (mean age = 46.02 years, SD = 6.06 years) who were undergoing treatment for BC. Participating mothers had at least one child aged 6-17 years. Participants were recruited via closed social media groups to complete a questionnaire containing: the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support tool, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and sociodemographic and clinical questions. We used structural equation modeling to regress the study variables on positive parenting.

Results: Friend support (β = .35, p = .009) and meaning in life (β = .30, p = .012) were significantly related to positive parenting. Family support, spiritual support, cognitive reappraisal, and the sociodemographic and clinical variables were not related to positive parenting.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that promoting meaning in life and friend support may be key to helping mothers to sustain positive parenting behaviors throughout their cancer treatment. Future research may examine whether psychosocial interventions which foster meaning in life and friend support impact positive parenting among mothers with BC.

References

Scott N, Fayers P, Aaronson N, Bottomley A, de Graeff A, Groenvold M . The use of differential item functioning analyses to identify cultural differences in responses to the EORTC QLQ-C30. Qual Life Res. 2006; 16(1):115-29. DOI: 10.1007/s11136-006-9120-1. View

Hernandez R, Bassett S, Boughton S, Schuette S, Shiu E, Moskowitz J . Psychological Well-being and Physical Health: Associations, Mechanisms, and Future Directions. Emot Rev. 2023; 10(1):18-29. PMC: 9841922. DOI: 10.1177/1754073917697824. View

Mens M, Helgeson V, Lembersky B, Baum A, Scheier M . Randomized psychosocial interventions for breast cancer: impact on life purpose. Psychooncology. 2015; 25(6):618-25. PMC: 4945105. DOI: 10.1002/pon.3891. View

Schofield T, Conger R, Donnellan M, Jochem R, Widaman K, Conger K . Parent Personality and Positive Parenting as Predictors of Positive Adolescent Personality Development Over Time. Merrill Palmer Q (Wayne State Univ Press). 2012; 58(2):255-283. PMC: 3399663. DOI: 10.1353/mpq.2012.0008. View

Gewirtz A, Snyder J, Zamir O, Zhang J, Zhang N . Effects of the After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) intervention on fathers and their children: A moderated mediation model. Dev Psychopathol. 2019; 31(5):1837-1849. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579419001238. View

Lundquist D, Berry D, Boltz M, DeSanto-Madeya S, Grace P . I'm Still Mom: Young Mothers Living With Advanced Breast Cancer. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2020; 47(4):405-414. DOI: 10.1188/20.ONF.405-414. View

Fisher C, OConnor M . "Motherhood" in the context of living with breast cancer. Cancer Nurs. 2011; 35(2):157-63. DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0b013e31821cadde. View

Hasson-Ohayon I, Goldzweig G, Braun M, Galinsky D . Women with advanced breast cancer and their spouses: diversity of support and psychological distress. Psychooncology. 2009; 19(11):1195-204. DOI: 10.1002/pon.1678. View

Yoshida S, Otani H, Hirai K, Ogata A, Mera A, Okada S . A qualitative study of decision-making by breast cancer patients about telling their children about their illness. Support Care Cancer. 2009; 18(4):439-47. DOI: 10.1007/s00520-009-0682-7. View

10.

Saloviita T, Italinna M, Leinonen E . Explaining the parental stress of fathers and mothers caring for a child with intellectual disability: a Double ABCX Model. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2003; 47(Pt 4-5):300-12. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2788.2003.00492.x. View

11.

Masarik A, Conger R . Stress and child development: a review of the Family Stress Model. Curr Opin Psychol. 2017; 13:85-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.05.008. View

12.

Fayers P . Interpreting quality of life data: population-based reference data for the EORTC QLQ-C30. Eur J Cancer. 2001; 37(11):1331-4. DOI: 10.1016/s0959-8049(01)00127-7. View

13.

Rajagopal L, Liamputtong P, McBride K . The Lived Experience of Australian Women Living with Breast Cancer: A Meta-Synthesis. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2019; 20(11):3233-3249. PMC: 7062985. DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.11.3233. View

14.

Beydoun J, Nasrallah L, Sabrah T, Caboral-Stevens M . Towards a Definition of Caregiver Fatigue: A Concept Analysis. ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 2019; 42(4):297-306. DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000262. View

15.

Martino M, Lemmo D, Gargiulo A . A review of psychological impact of breast cancer in women below 50 years old. Health Care Women Int. 2021; 42(7-9):1066-1085. DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2021.1901901. View

16.

Faul F, Erdfelder E, Buchner A, Lang A . Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behav Res Methods. 2009; 41(4):1149-60. DOI: 10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149. View

17.

Tavares R, Brandao T, Matos P . Mothers with breast cancer: A mixed-method systematic review on the impact on the parent-child relationship. Psychooncology. 2017; 27(2):367-375. DOI: 10.1002/pon.4451. View

18.

Fernandes C, Muller R, Rodin G . Predictors of parenting stress in patients with haematological cancer. J Psychosoc Oncol. 2012; 30(1):81-96. DOI: 10.1080/07347332.2011.633978. View

19.

Kuswanto C, Stafford L, Sharp J, Schofield P . Psychological distress, role, and identity changes in mothers following a diagnosis of cancer: A systematic review. Psychooncology. 2018; 27(12):2700-2708. DOI: 10.1002/pon.4904. View

20.

Roberts K, Lepore S, Helgeson V . Social-cognitive correlates of adjustment to prostate cancer. Psychooncology. 2005; 15(3):183-92. PMC: 2610315. DOI: 10.1002/pon.934. View