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Parental experiences of adolescent cancer‐related distress: A qualitative study
Author(s) -
Sharma Aditi,
Loades Maria E.,
Baker Laura,
Jordan Abbie,
James Venessa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.13417
Subject(s) - distress , medicine , thematic analysis , context (archaeology) , feeling , qualitative research , psychological intervention , clinical psychology , adolescent health , developmental psychology , psychiatry , psychology , nursing , social psychology , social science , sociology , paleontology , biology
Objective Adolescents' cancer‐related distress is more complex, severe, and long‐lasting than that of children and adults. Parents adopt an active role in supporting their adolescent, reporting that adolescent cancer‐related distress is the most problematic symptom parents experience. Research has predominantly focused on exploring adolescents' experiences of cancer‐related distress, with little attention to how their parents experience their adolescent's cancer‐related distress. Therefore, we aimed to explore parents' experiences of distress within the context of parenting an adolescent with cancer‐related distress during or immediately subsequent to active treatment. Methods A total of 21 semi‐structured interviews were conducted face‐to‐face or via telephone, with parents of adolescents aged 12–18 years from south‐west England. Inductive reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Three themes were generated: “ The contagion of distress ”, “ Navigating breaking point ” and “ Developmental disruption ”. Parental distress transcended from adolescent cancer‐related distress, eliciting uncertainty and challenging parenting limits. Parental distress was perpetuated by feelings that their adolescent had missed out on “normal” adolescence during and just after active treatment. Conclusion Parental distress reflected the multi‐faceted nature of their adolescent's cancer‐related distress. Findings advocate the importance of providing a parental voice within adolescent oncology populations. Developing tailored interventions to address parental distress are suggested.