Barn og unge som pårørende ved kreft - Senter for Krisepsykologi

SUMMARYBackground and objectives of the projectEvery year a high number of new cases of cancer are diagnosed in Norway. The Center for CrisisPsychology wished to study the burden that cancer among parents represents for children andyoung people, what kind of help they experience the need for and the support provided for them.The centre was granted funding from the Norwegian Cancer Society through their strategicinitiative on social and health research to undertake a study that could reflect children’s total caresituation when a parent was diagnosed with cancer, as well as assess the relevant supportmeasures.MethodA combination of in-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to achieve both depth andbreadth of understanding. A total of 37 children filled in questionnaires and 29 were interviewed.Ninety-four adults responded to the questionnaire, while 19 were interviewed. The participantsconsisted of bereaved children and children of sick parents, while the adult group consisted ofbereaved parents, healthy parents and ill parents. The questionnaire included questions developedby the Centre for Crisis Psychology, as well as use of standardized inventories used in Norway andinternationally. This allows comparisons with other studies. For the interview an interview guidewas developed and used. Interviews were transcribed and the data processed by standardprocedures for qualitative interviews. Questionnaire data were processed with statistical methodsappropriate for the data's quality.ResultsOur results show that the diagnosis of cancer in a parent with subsequent treatment, remission,relapse, and possibly terminal phase and death, lead to changes in parent and family functioning inmany areas. These changes affected children's behavior, their emotional and physical functioning,as well as their school performance and social situation. While the bereaved and sick parents to thegreatest extent were struggling with anxiety, depression, grief and trauma reactions, healthyparents struggled with the experience of inadequacy and powerlessness. Of the three groups,bereaved parents indicated most problems on measures of psychosocial functioning. Comparedwith similar samples and normal populations, we found that the anxiety level in the Norwegianstudy is relatively high, especially for healthy parents who have lost their partner. The level ofdepressive reactions is relatively high among bereaved and sick parents and also somewhatelevated among healthy parents when compared with the Norwegian average levels. Bereaved12