Perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion: a comparison of adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents
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Celeste R. Phillips-Salimi
,
Sheri L. Robb
Abstract
Purpose: To describe and compare adolescent and parent perspectives on communication, family adaptability and cohesion, as well as relationships among these variables, during the first month of an adolescent’s cancer diagnosis.
Methods: Seventy adolescent-parent dyads were enrolled as part of a larger multi-site study. The adolescents ranged in age from 11 to 19, and 61% were males. Parents were predominately mothers (83%). Dyads were predominately non-Hispanic Caucasian (63%). Measures included the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES II). Paired t-tests, Pearson correlations, intra-class correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analyses were completed.
Results: Adolescent scores on communication, family adaptability and cohesion were significantly lower than parent scores. The inter-dyadic agreement between adolescents and parents was low. Communication, family adaptability and cohesion were examined separately for adolescents and for parents, and significant relationships were found. Both adolescent- and parent-perceived communication was significantly associated with family adaptability and cohesion outcomes.
Conclusions: Differences were found in adolescent and parent perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion. When both adolescents and parents had better perceived communication, this was associated with better perceived family adaptability and cohesion. Results suggest that the development of interventions to enhance adolescent-parent communication could help foster better family adaptability and cohesion, which may ultimately impact their psychological adjustment. In addition, understanding the degree to which adolescents and parents disagree on their perceptions, including the results that parents generally have more favorable perceptions, may be a useful starting point when developing interventions.
This project was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) R29 (NR03882: PI: Haase). Additional support was provided by the first author’s doctoral scholarships/fellowships: American Cancer Society Doctoral Scholarship in Cancer Nursing (DSCN-05-181-01), Leadership and Education in Adolescent Health (HRSA/T71MC00008-14-00), Individual National Research Service Award, NIH/NINR (F31 NR009733-01A1), Institutional National Research Service Award, NIH/NINR (T32 NR07066), Mary Margaret Walther Cancer Institute Predoctoral Fellowship, Research Incentive Fellowship, Indiana University School of Nursing and the second author’s institutional CTSI career development award PHS (NCCR) KL2RR025760-02.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate
- Review
- Sexual and reproductive health of Portuguese adolescents
- Original articles
- Tobacco consumption among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Delhi
- Perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion: a comparison of adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents
- The prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in high school: a 2011 survey
- Short- and medium-term impact of a residential weight-loss camp for overweight adolescents
- Personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers: findings from a community-based study in Sri Lanka
- Adolescents with anorectal malformation: physical outcome, sexual health and quality of life
- What sources do adolescents turn to for information about their health concerns?
- Experiences of returning to elite alpine skiing after ACL injury and ACL reconstruction
- Hyperandrogenemia in male autistic children and adolescents: relation to disease severity
- The career aspirations of adolescents with eating disorders: an exploratory study and suggested links to adolescent self-concept development
- Differential effects of religiosity on sexual initiation among Nigerian in-school adolescents
- Prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria
- The concepts of work, study, and leisure of parents and children
- How do Iranian female adolescents express their health education needs? A needs assessment with qualitative thematic analysis
- Attitudes and knowledge levels of nurses and residents caring for adolescents with an eating disorder
- Predictors of suicide ideation and risk for HIV among juvenile offenders in Georgia
- Short Communication
- Association between food intake frequency and obesity among adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia
- Case reports
- Unusual cause of urethral bleeding in an adolescent: a case in dilemma
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: a specific cause of cyclical vomiting
