The Association Between Parents’ Post-Traumatic Stress and Children’s Post-Traumatic Stress in Families Confronted With Parental Cancer: The Potential Mediating Role of Parental Warmth

Abstract

The present study examined families confronted with parental cancer. Two potential differences were examined preliminarily. Firstly, the potential difference in the degree of ill parents’ and healthy parents’ post-traumatic stress. Secondly, the potential difference between the degree of ill parents’ and healthy parents’ parental warmth. In addition, the potential association between parents’ post-traumatic stress and children’s post-traumatic stress and the potential mediating role of parental warmth, was examined separately for ill parents and healthy parents. Families with a parent diagnosed with cancer and with children between the ages of 8 and 18 participated by filling out questionnaires. A total of 251 participants (90 ill parents, 71 healthy parents and 90 children) from 90 families participated in the present study. Paired sample t-tests, linear regression analyses and mediation analyses were used to answer the research questions. No significant difference in the degree of ill parents’ and healthy parents’ post-traumatic stress was found. However, a significant difference in the degree of ill parents’ and healthy parents’ parental warmth, reported by children, was found: ill parents’ scores were significantly higher. For ill parents, but not for healthy parents, a significant association between parents’ post-traumatic stress and children’s post traumatic stress was found. No evidence for the mediating role of parental warmth was observed for both the ill parents and the healthy parents. Further research on both parents’ post-traumatic stress and children’s post-traumatic stress in families confronted with parental cancer is needed and could have important clinical applications for working with these families. Implications for the results, limitations of the present study and suggestions for further research are discussed.