Progredienzangst bei Eltern krebskranker Kinder: Adaptation eines Fragebogens und Korrelate

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • F. Schepper - , Leipzig University (Author)
  • K. Abel - , Chemnitz University of Technology (Author)
  • P. Herschbach - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • H. Christiansen - , Leipzig University (Author)
  • A. Mehnert - , Leipzig University (Author)
  • J. Martini - , Chair of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (Author)

Abstract

Background: Fear of Progression (FoP), the fear of further disease progression, is one of the most common psychological strains of chronically ill patients and can also be found in healthy partners of cancer patients. Parents of children with cancer are also at risk of developing distinct fears that may persist after medical treatment. This study aimed to assess FoP in parents of children with cancer and to investigate relationships between FoP in parents of children with cancer and disease- and treatment-related issues, the child's current medical condition and parents' quality of life. Patients: In this study 76 parents (51 mothers, 25 fathers) whose children were in inpatient treatment or follow-up care were surveyed. Method: The short form of the FoP Questionnaire was adapted by rephrasing the items for the parental perspective (FoP-Q-SF/PR). Results: The FoP-Q-SF/PR is a short questionnaire with adequate psychometric properties (e.-g. Cronbach's α=0.90) and satisfying results in terms of construct validity. Significant correlations with FoP are found for the child's current medical condition (r=0.35), time since diagnosis (r=-0.30), parents' capacity to cope with disease-related fears (r=-0.45) and parents' quality of life (r=-0.55). A cut-off value of 46 points is recommended. Conclusion: The FoP-Q-SF/PR offers a feasible and sensitive battery to assess disease-related fears. For clinicians, evaluation of individual results can provide insight into specific problem areas for parents of children with cancer. The questionnaire is thus well suited for use in psychosocial care of families within the field of paediatric oncology.

Translated title of the contribution
Fear of progression in parents of children with cancer
Adaptation of the fear of progression questionnaire and correlates

Details

Original languageGerman
Pages (from-to)151-156
Number of pages6
JournalKlinische Padiatrie
Volume227
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 26 Mar 2015
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 25811743

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • fear of progression, follow-up care, parents of children with cancer, questionnaire