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Test of a conceptual model of uncertainty in children and adolescents with cancer
Author(s) -
Stewart Janet L.,
Mishel Merle H.,
Lynn Mary R.,
Terhorst Lauren
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.20374
Subject(s) - antecedent (behavioral psychology) , stressor , developmental psychology , childhood cancer , psychology , variance (accounting) , distress , perspective (graphical) , test (biology) , clinical psychology , pediatric cancer , cancer , medicine , paleontology , accounting , biology , artificial intelligence , computer science , business
Despite recognition as a significant stressor in childhood cancer, illness‐related uncertainty from the perspective of children remains under‐studied. We tested a conceptual model of uncertainty, derived from Mishel's uncertainty in illness theory, in 68 school‐aged children and adolescents with cancer. As hypothesized, uncertainty was significantly related to psychological distress, but only one hypothesized antecedent (parental uncertainty) significantly predicted children's uncertainty. An alternative model incorporating antecedent developmental factors (age and illness‐specific expertise) explained 21% of the variance in child uncertainty; controlling for stage of treatment, uncertainty was higher in children with shorter time since diagnosis, older age, lower cancer knowledge, and higher parental uncertainty. These findings provide the foundation for further studies to understand children's management of uncertainty and its contribution to psychological adjustment to illness. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 33:179–191, 2010