Coping skills and mental health status in adolescents when a parent has cancer: a multicenter and multi-perspective study

Objective - Parental cancer increases the risk of psychosocial problems in adolescents. We investigated the frequency and efficacy of adolescents' coping strategies and relationships between those strategies and mental health status. Age and gender differences regarding coping and mental health...

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Hauptverfasser: Krattenmacher, Thomas (VerfasserIn) , Kühne, Franziska (VerfasserIn) , Führer, Daniel (VerfasserIn) , Beierlein, Volker (VerfasserIn) , Brähler, Elmar (VerfasserIn) , Resch, Franz (VerfasserIn) , Klitzing, Kai v. (VerfasserIn) , Flechtner, Hans-Henning (VerfasserIn) , Bergelt, Corinna (VerfasserIn) , Romer, Georg (VerfasserIn) , Möller, Birgit (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2013
In: Journal of psychosomatic research
Year: 2012, Jahrgang: 74, Heft: 3, Pages: 252-259
ISSN:1879-1360
DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.10.003
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.10.003
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399912002802
Volltext
Verfasserangaben:Thomas Krattenmacher, Franziska Kühne, Daniel Führer, Volker Beierlein, Elmar Brähler, Franz Resch, Kai v. Klitzing, Hans-Henning Flechtner, Corinna Bergelt, Georg Romer, Birgit Möller
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Zusammenfassung:Objective - Parental cancer increases the risk of psychosocial problems in adolescents. We investigated the frequency and efficacy of adolescents' coping strategies and relationships between those strategies and mental health status. Age and gender differences regarding coping and mental health were also investigated. - Methods - In total, 214 adolescents from 167 families participated in a cross-sectional, multicenter study. All participants were recruited from standard oncological care. Among the participants, 52% utilized a child-centered intervention program. Adolescents' coping skills were measured using KIDCOPE. Mental health status was rated by adolescents and parents by the SDQ for symptomatology and the KIDSCREEN for well-being. - Results - We found that 29% of the adolescents showed emotional and behavioral problems. We found gender differences in mental health status but not in coping. Adolescents used a broad spectrum of coping strategies. Active problem-solving, distraction, acceptance, wishful thinking and seeking social support were the most frequently used coping strategies. The utilization of certain coping skills was mediated by their perceived efficacy. Problem-focused or approach-oriented coping strategies generally are associated with better mental health, while avoidance-oriented coping are associated with worse mental health. Emotion-focused coping was associated with both lower and higher mental health. - Conclusion - The strategies used by adolescents to cope with parental cancer are associated with their mental health. Problem-solving and approach-oriented coping strategies should be facilitated by psychological interventions regardless of age and gender. Age and gender differences in adolescents' mental health should be further investigated because these differences are not explained by differences in coping strategies.
Beschreibung:available online 10 November 2012
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Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1879-1360
DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.10.003