Posttraumatic stress symptoms during treatment in parents of children diagnosed with cancer

Abstract

The study aimed to study the presence of PTSS in parents of children with cancer currently on treatment and the association of PTSS in parents with cancer during treatment with length of time since diagnosis and treatment intensity. The study was conducted on 360 parents at a Tertiary Care Government Medical College and Cancer Hospital. The participants were subjected to the questionnaire PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-C) scale, to assess PTSS and Oncologists rated the intensity of each child's treatment. The most common age group in the parents was of young adults 25-34years [255(71%)]. Majority of parents were male 288(80%). It was found that PTSD was present in majority of parents [235(65.27%]. On statistical analysis, no significant relationship was found between PTSS in mothers and fathers (p=0.1664). There was no significant relationship between PTSS and the length of time since diagnosis in both mothers (P=0.85) and fathers (P=0.32). No significant relationship was found between the intensity of treatment and PTSD in mothers on statistical analysis (p<0.3). While PTSD in fathers showed significant correlation with the intensity of treatment of the child (p<0.05). There are very few studies regarding examining emotional distress of parents of children with malignancies in our country. Hence, studying PTSS in parents of children with cancer seems to be significant and more research needs to be done in this area.