Table 3.
Study characteristics and estimates of psychosocial situation or well-being of children and/or young adults having a parent with cancer from n = 7 articles.
| Author, year | Database and data source | Sample | Characteristics of children: age; gender | Assessment of psychosocial situation or well-being | Information on well-being or psychosocial outcome in children having a parent with cancer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bultmann et al. (44) | Cancer registries, Parental report | n = 1,449 children of n = 976 cancer survivors | Age: M = 13.0 years (range 6-18 years); Gender: 47.9% female |
Single item on distress (6-point-likert scale, cut off ≥3=distressed), Health related quality of life (Kidscreen-10 Index) | 10.8% of the children were currently distressed; Overall: Higher HRQoL in children affected by parental cancer compared to norm population |
| Chen et al. (34) | Register-based data | N = 1.791.565 children (born between 1983 and 2000) | Age: 0–27 years Gender: 52.8% male |
Diagnosis of psychiatric disorder (ICD-Code) | 8.7% (male, cancer during pregnancy: 1%, female, cancer during pregnancy: 1.2%; male, cancer after birth: 7.6%, female, cancer: after birth 9.8%); higher risk of psychiatric disorder diagnoses in children of parents with cancer |
| Chen et al. (34) | Register-based data | N = 465.249 young men undergoing military conscription examination | Age: approximately 18 years (0–17 at time of parental diagnoses) Gender: 100% male |
Semi-structured interview to assess ability to cope with psychological stress during military service (Stanine scale; score of 1–3=low stress resilience) | 21.4% had low stress resilience; higher risk for low stress resilience in children of parents with cancer |
| Jeppesen et al. (35) | Representative sample and linkage with cancer registry | N = 8.986 students registered in junior high and high schools (13–19 years) | Age: 13–19 years Gender: 49.7% female |
Several items/instruments assessing different aspects of psychosocial problems (somatic stress symptoms, cut off ≥ 2 symptoms; feeling lonely, 1 = very often/often; eating problems (EAT 7, cut off >4); self-esteem, 0–6 = low self-esteem; anxiety and depression (SCL-5, cut off ≥2), school problems, 1 = one or more problems; psychosocial problems, cut off ≥2); | 10% eating problems, 6% feeling lonely, 20% low self-esteem, 18%anxiety/depression, 41% school problems, 36% somatic stress symptoms, high problem cases 34%; no differences between children of parents with cancer and control group |
| Momen et al. (38) | Register-based data |
N = 2,725 children (prenatal exposure to cancer) N = 63.708 children (postnatal exposure to cancer) |
Age: 0–18 years Gender: 50% female (prenatal exposure), 49% female (postnatal exposure) |
Psychiatric diagnoses according to ICD-Code | 3.4% (n = 93, prenatal exposure to cancer), 2.5% (n = 1,584, postnatal exposure to cancer) |
| Niemelä et al. (40) | Finnish Birth Cohort Study and linkage with register-based data | N = 59.476 children | Age: 21 years at follow up Gender: 48.5% female |
Use of specialized psychiatric care | 16.2% had received specialized psychiatric care |
| Niemelä et al. (16, 46) | Finnish Birth Cohort Study and linkage with register-based data | N = 59.476 children | Age: 21 years at follow up Gender: 48.5% female |
Use of psychiatric outpatient care & psychiatric diagnoses according to ICD-Code | In total, 14% had received psychiatric outpatient care, 10.8% had been diagnosed with a mental disorder |
EAT, Eating Attitude Test; SCL, Symptom Check List.