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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on July 12, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(3):297-308; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl015
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Adjustment of Children and Their Mothers with Breast Cancer

Ronald T. Brown, PhD, ABPP1, Bernard Fuemmeler, PhD2, Deborah Anderson, PhD3, Sara Jamieson, BA4, Susan Simonian, PhD4, Rayna Kneuper Hall, MD5 and Frank Brescia, MD5

1 Department of Public Health, Temple University, 2 National Cancer Institute, 3 Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, 4 College of Charleston, and, 5 Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ronald T. Brown, PhD, ABPP, Department of Public Health, Temple University, 3307 North Broad Street, 300 Jones Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140. E-mail: rtbrown{at}temple.edu.


  Abstract

Objective To examine the adjustment of children of mothers with both active and nonactive breast cancers in comparison with a healthy community control sample. Methods Participants included 80 mothers and their children. Half of the mothers had breast cancer or a history of breast cancer. Children in both groups ranged in age from 8 to 19 years. Assessments included measures of maternal stressors and resources, maternal and child adjustment and posttraumatic stress, and maternal coping and illness uncertainty reported by both mothers and their children. Results Few differences were found between the groups, although there was a trend for girls of mothers with breast cancer to have a higher frequency of depressive symptoms. Children of mothers who perceived support from friends and family had fewer depressive symptoms, after we controlled for child gender. Conclusions The social support perceived by mothers with breast cancer may serve as a protective factor for their children’s psychological adjustment.

Key words: adjustment; breast cancer; social support.

John Lavigne, Associate Editor, managed this manuscript.

Received October 1, 2005; revision received March 7, 2006; revision received June 2, 2006; accepted June 3, 2006


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