Late Effects, Social Adjustment, and Quality of Life in Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Leukemia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the late effects, social adjustment, and quality of life in adolescents who had been completely treated for childhood leukemia and their parents. METHODS: Participants consisted of 41 pairs of adolescent survivors (13-18 years) and their parents. Parents checked for their child's physical late effects. The Korean Version of Post-Traumatic Symptoms for psychological late effects, social functioning questionnaire for social adjustment and the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales for quality of life were completed by adolescents and parents. Data were analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS: Twenty out of 41 adolescents had one or more physical late effects. Adolescents showed more serious psychological late effect than parents. Five children and seven parents had above cut-off scores and they were considered the high risk group for posttraumatic symptoms. Parent-reported scores were significantly higher than child-reported scores in terms of social adjustment and emotional functioning of quality of life. Low school functioning in adolescents was associated with physical late effects. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that long-term and systematic management for childhood leukemia survivors affect positive social adjustment and can further improve quality of life.