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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on May 18, 2009
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsp037
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© The Author 2009. 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

The Role of Coping and Temperament in the Adjustment of Children with Cancer

Kimberly S. Miller, MA1,2, Kathryn Vannatta, PhD1, Bruce E. Compas, PhD3, Michael Vasey, PhD2, Katie D. McGoron, BA4, Christina G. Salley, MA1,2 and Cynthia A. Gerhardt, PhD1

1Center for Biobehavioral Health, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University, 2Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 3Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University and 4Department of Psychology, Loyola University

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cynthia A. Gerhardt, Center for Biobehavioral Health, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43205-2696, USA. E-mail: cynthia.gerhardt{at}nationwidechildrens.org


  Abstract

Objective To examine the extent to which stress, coping, and temperament accounted for variability in adjustment among children with cancer. Methods Seventy-five mothers of children with cancer (ages 5–17) completed questionnaires regarding their child's cancer-related stress; coping; temperament characteristics including positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and effortful control (EC); and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Assessments occurred within one year of initial diagnosis or relapse (M = 5.74 months; SD = 4.72). Results Cancer-related stress was positively associated with symptoms of depression in children. NA was positively associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Primary control coping moderated the association between NA and depression, and primary and secondary control coping mediated this association. Conclusion Results partially support the utility of an integrated model including cancer-related stress, coping, and NA in identifying children at risk for internalizing symptoms during treatment. Additional research is needed to inform interventions for this population.

Key words: adjustment; cancer; children; coping; temperament.

Received March 25, 2008; revision received April 6, 2009; accepted April 8, 2009


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