ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine negative affectivity and problem-solving abilities for lone mothers and those who are married/partnered subsequent to a child's diagnosis with cancer. METHODS: Negative affectivity and problem-solving strategies were assessed for 464 mothers (87 lone and 377 married/partnered) within 2-16 weeks of their child's diagnosis with cancer. RESULTS: The two groups of mothers did not differ significantly on measures of perceived posttraumatic stress or problem-solving; lone mothers reported significantly more symptoms of depression. This difference was no longer significant when maternal education was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Negative affectivity and problem-solving abilities were similar for lone mothers and those that are married/partnered shortly after their child has been diagnosed with cancer. Findings are discussed within the context of contemporary strategies to assess marital status as proxy variable for various underlying constructs.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/therapy , Depression/therapy , Family Therapy/methods , Mothers/psychology , Neoplasms/psychology , Problem Solving , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/psychology , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/diagnosis , Depression/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Mothers/education , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/therapy , Personality Inventory/statistics & numerical data , Psychometrics , Single Parent/education , Single Parent/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose was to determine the utility of including neurovegetative symptoms in assessments of depression in youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: Forty-one youth with IBD and concurrent depressive symptomatology were enrolled in an intervention trial and received either 9 modules of cognitive-behavioral therapy (PASCET-PI) or treatment as usual (TAU). Youth and their primary caregivers completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) at pre- (T1) and posttreatment (T2). Disease severity measures and current steroid dosage were obtained at each timepoint. Change in the individual items of the CDI was compared across groups and examined in association with change in physical illness course. RESULTS: Paired sample t-tests revealed significant changes in CDI item scores from T1 to T2 for a majority of the depressive symptoms assessed in the PASCET-PI group, but not for the TAU group. These changes did not appear to be linked to changes in disease severity and/or steroid dosage across these same timepoints. CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of somatic items in the assessment of depression in physically ill youth is important, as these symptoms seem to respond to psychotherapeutic intervention. The present results would suggest that improvements in depressive symptomatology are not solely related to improvements in the course of IBD and that these items do reflect an important part of the profile of depressive symptoms in youth with IBD. Future research is warranted to replicate present findings and explore the generalizability of these results to other pediatric illness populations.
