Abstract
There is still little research on psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction and reported problems in preadolescents and adolescents under therapy for leukaemia, and also little research comparing them with their healthy peers. The present study aimed to analyse the life satisfaction, hope, psychological wellbeing and reported problems’ intensity in 60 patients aged 8–18 during the first year of therapy, to identify those more at risk and to compare their reports with matched healthy peers. A battery of self-reported questionnaires was administered during hospitalisation or day hospital admissions post 6 months and post 12 months from the diagnosis. Younger patients (aged 8–13 years) were more at risk than older ones in their problems’ intensity and psychological symptoms; females and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia patients reported lower current life satisfaction perceptions; hope was associated with lower depression symptoms and mood problems. Healthy peers have a better perception of current life, but reported a lower hope score, more anxiety symptoms and more cognitive problems than patients. The first 6 months were more critical for patients’ psychological health. Basing on these empirical data, the inclusion of mental health care professionals or supportive psychotherapy into the treatment is recognized as extremely useful.
Highlights
Adolescence is a period of significant physical and emotional changes, and a diagnosis of leukaemia during this time could have an important impact on psychological development of adolescents
The present study aims to analyse the life perceptions, hope, psychological wellbeing and reported problems in preadolescents and adolescents affected by leukaemia during the first year of therapy comparing perceptions and symptomatology with those reported by a group of matched healthy peers
The battery of questionnaires analysed the perception of life, hope, psychological wellbeing and reported cognitive difficulties of children/early adolescents (8–13 years) and middle adolescents (14–18 years)
Summary
Adolescence is a period of significant physical and emotional changes, and a diagnosis of leukaemia during this time could have an important impact on psychological development of adolescents. Previous studies have pointed out that they identify fewer goals, are more likely to have a health-related goal and less likely to have an intrapersonal or leisure purpose and rate their objectives as more achievable and supported, compared with healthy peers [1]. Adolescents with cancer represent a major challenge to healthcare professionals both because of their serious illness and because this event comes at a sensitive period of development, the controversial age of adolescence. Healthcare professionals should know which factors influence the preadolescents’. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 567; doi:10.3390/ijerph17020567 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
