Problem-Solving Skills Parent-Adolescent Communication Dyadic Functioning and Distress Among Adolescents with Cancer

摘要

Some adolescents with cancer report distress and unmet needs. Guided by the disability-stress-coping model, we evaluated associations among problem-solving skills, parent-adolescent cancer-related communication, parent-adolescent dyadic functioning, and distress in adolescents with cancer. Thirty-nine adolescent-parent dyads completed measures of these constructs. Adolescents were 14–20 years old and on treatment or within one year of completing treatment. Better problem-solving skills were correlated with lower adolescent distress (r = −0.70, p <0.001). Adolescent-reported cancer-related communication problems and dyadic functioning were not significantly related to adolescent distress (rs < 0.18). Future work should examine use of problem-solving interventions to decrease distress for adolescents with cancer.