RPD321 - Cancer Parenting Skills in Parents with Advanced Cancer: Implications for Intervention

Key Message : Parents with advanced cancer who have lower confidence in supporting their children and weaker parent-child relationships tend to struggle with effective cancer-related parenting. Strengthening parental self-efficacy and relationships is critical for improving family well-being and should be a focus of supportive care interventions.

Abstract:

Background:
Hundreds of thousands of children are affected by a parent’s cancer annually, and an estimated 20% involve advanced disease with no known cure (1). Developmental-contextual models of parenting, stress/coping, and social-cognitive functioning suggest that parents’ and children’s quality of life (QoL) during parental cancer are intertwined, and may be influenced by cancer parenting skills (e.g., disclosing, discussing, and coping with cancer). The purpose of this study was to describe and model these skills in families affected by advanced cancer.
Approach:
As part of a RCT, parents with advanced cancer (N=84, M age=47, 69% female, 23% non-White) completed validated baseline measures of their cancer burden, psychological distress, self-confidence to assist their children, parent-child relationship quality, and cancer parenting skills. Bivariate analyses were conducted first, followed by multivariable regression.

Results:
Parents endorsing fewer burdens of cancer (physical r=0.23, p=0.02; mental r=0.28, p=0.005), less psychological distress (r=0.25, p=0.01), lower confidence in assisting children (r=0.44, p< 0.001), and weaker parent-child relationship quality (r=0.22, p=0.02) reported poorer cancer parenting skills. In a multivariable stepwise regression, parents with less psychological distress (B=0.32, p=0.02), lower confidence in their ability to support their children’s coping (B=0.37, p=0.003), and weaker relationships with their children (B=0.24, p=0.04) reported poorer cancer parenting.
Implications:
Findings highlight the critical roles of parental distress, self-efficacy, and parent-child relationship quality in shaping effective parent management during advanced cancer treatment. Additional research is warranted to determine the nature of these complex relationships. The results underscore the need for targeted interventions to enhance parenting skills and ultimately strengthen QoL among families affected by advanced cancer.

References: (1) Weaver KE, Rowland JH, Alfano CM, McNeel TS. Parental cancer and the family: A population-based estimate of the number of US cancer survivors residing with their minor children. Cancer. 2010;116(18):4395-401.doi:10.1002/cncr.25368.