TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of post-traumatic growth following childhood and adolescent cancer
T2 - A systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Turner, Jasmin
AU - Hutchinson, Amanda
AU - Wilson, Carlene
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - Objective: A growing number of children and adolescents are experiencing and surviving cancer. This review aims to identify the demographic, medical, and psychosocial correlates of perceived post-traumatic growth in individuals of any age who were affected by paediatric cancer. Findings will highlight protective factors that may facilitate post-traumatic growth, allowing for directed social support, intervention, and follow-up care. Methods: A systematic search based on the key concepts “post-traumatic growth,” “neoplasms,” and “paediatric” retrieved 905 records from online databases: Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PILOTS: Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Eligible studies were appraised as excellent quality with a high level of interrater reliability. The results of 18 studies were synthesised. Results: After the removal of outliers, post-traumatic growth shared small, negative associations with time since diagnosis (r = −0.14) and time since treatment completion (r = −0.19), and small, positive associations with age at diagnosis (r = 0.20), age at survey (r = 0.17), post-traumatic stress symptoms (r = 0.11), and social support (r = 0.25). Post-traumatic growth was positively and moderately associated with optimism (r = 0.31). Conclusions: Several findings were consistent with a comparable meta-analysis in adult oncology populations. Targeted social support, clinical intervention, and education may facilitate post-traumatic growth. Longitudinal research in individuals affected by childhood and adolescent cancer would allow an examination of the effects of predictive variables on post-traumatic growth over time.
AB - Objective: A growing number of children and adolescents are experiencing and surviving cancer. This review aims to identify the demographic, medical, and psychosocial correlates of perceived post-traumatic growth in individuals of any age who were affected by paediatric cancer. Findings will highlight protective factors that may facilitate post-traumatic growth, allowing for directed social support, intervention, and follow-up care. Methods: A systematic search based on the key concepts “post-traumatic growth,” “neoplasms,” and “paediatric” retrieved 905 records from online databases: Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PILOTS: Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Eligible studies were appraised as excellent quality with a high level of interrater reliability. The results of 18 studies were synthesised. Results: After the removal of outliers, post-traumatic growth shared small, negative associations with time since diagnosis (r = −0.14) and time since treatment completion (r = −0.19), and small, positive associations with age at diagnosis (r = 0.20), age at survey (r = 0.17), post-traumatic stress symptoms (r = 0.11), and social support (r = 0.25). Post-traumatic growth was positively and moderately associated with optimism (r = 0.31). Conclusions: Several findings were consistent with a comparable meta-analysis in adult oncology populations. Targeted social support, clinical intervention, and education may facilitate post-traumatic growth. Longitudinal research in individuals affected by childhood and adolescent cancer would allow an examination of the effects of predictive variables on post-traumatic growth over time.
KW - adolescents
KW - benefit finding
KW - cancer
KW - children
KW - oncology
KW - post-traumatic growth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035105776&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/pon.4577
DO - 10.1002/pon.4577
M3 - Review article
VL - 27
SP - 1100
EP - 1109
JO - Psycho-Oncology
JF - Psycho-Oncology
SN - 1057-9249
IS - 4
ER -