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The Relationship Between Characteristics of Parents of Children with Cancer and Their Psychosocial Risks

Ala Shamsi

Abstract


Support of parents of children with cancer requires health care personnel to be knowledgeable about the prevalence psychosocial risks among Iranian parents of children with cancer. This study thus was conducted to fulfill this aim in South-East of Iran. Using the Psychosocial Assessment Tool-Revised (PAT-R) for parents of children with cancer, 200 parents of these children in two hospitals supervised by Kerman University of Medical Sciences was assessed. The results indicated that the mean of family problems was lower among parents who attend to religious practice daily (mean=0.28, p=0.04, SD=0.15) compared to the others. The mean of category of “sibling problems” was lower among mothers with older age (mean= 0.09, p=0.009, SD=0.04) compared to younger ones. A difference was found between parents in category of “parents’ stress reaction”, so that mothers’ “stress reaction” was higher than that of fathers (p= 0.006, meanm= 1.90, SDm=0.67, meanf = 1.6, SDf=0.86). Religiosity and personal growth are some of the factors that affect parents’ psychological risks. Parents could gain experience and information in group discussion. Exposure to suitable narratives in ordinal parents’ meetings provides appropriate opportunity for them to reflect on their own life stories. This life story perspective provides a realistic foundation that can support parents’ well-being and contribute to satisfying the needs of their children.

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