Psychological morbidity and autonomic reactivity to emotional stimulus in parental cancer: a study with adult children caregivers

This study analyzed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and family functioning in a sample of adult children caregivers of cancer patients and in a group of adult children of nonchronically ill parents. Participants completed measures of family functioning and PTSD symptoms. The parental cancer group was subdivided into PTSD subgroups, and significant differences, on family functioning, were found. In the parental cancer group, the predictors of PTSD symptoms were being a woman and having an enmeshed or chaotic family functioning. Chaotic functioning mediated the relationship between family communication/satisfaction and PTSD symptoms, in the parental cancer group. Finally, there was a higher prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the parental cancer group, and participants with a probable PTSD diagnosis showed higher levels of family imbalance. This study shows that adult children facing parental cancer, who have a poorer family balance, may benefit from interventions that target family functioning.

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Children of a Cohort of Depressed Patients 25 Years on: Identifying Those at Risk

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01663.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 39 (10) ◽

pp. 907-914 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Carmelle Peisah ◽

Henry Brodaty ◽

Georgina Luscombe ◽

Kaarin J Anstey

Keyword(s):

Adult Children ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Child Psychopathology ◽

Family Relationship ◽

Psychological Morbidity ◽

Parental Illness ◽

Parent Depression ◽

Psychological Outcome ◽

Method Factors ◽

Parent Illness

Objective: Factors associated with psychological outcome in children of patients with depression have been examined piecemeal, with emphasis on young rather than adult children. We hypothesized that psychological morbidity in adult children of patients with depression would be associated with characteristics of the children, their parents and their family relationships. Method: Factors predicting psychopathology in children (n = 94) of a cohort of patients with depression, admitted to a teaching hospital 25 years earlier, were examined using logistic regression. Results: Psychological morbidity in children was predicted by their being younger at parent's admission, their perception of the depressed parent as more controlling and chronicity of the parent's depression. Correlations between child characteristics, parent illness and family relationship variables showed systemic interactions between parental illness, child psychopathology and family relationships. Conclusion: Chronicity (though neither recurrence nor severity) of parent depression and younger children's age at the time of parental admission for depression were associated with psychological morbidity in the children in adulthood. The interaction between child psychopathology, parental illness and family relationships emphasizes the need for a systemic, family focus in the treatment of depression.

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