Effectiveness of partner social support predicts enduring psychological distress after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) survivors who are 1 to 3 years posttransplant are challenged by the need to resume valued social roles and activities--a task that may be complicated by enduring transplant-related psychological distress common in this patient population. The present study investigated whether transplant survivors who receive adequate social support from their spouse or intimate partner experience lower distress.

Method: Effects of receiving a greater quantity of partner support (a common approach to studying enacted support) were compared with effects of receiving more effective partner support (i.

Randomized clinical trial of telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder and distress symptoms after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

Purpose: A significant number of survivors of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) report enduring adverse effects of treatment, including illness-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and general distress. We report results of a randomized clinical trial that tested the effects of a 10-session, telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention on PTSD, depression, and distress symptoms.

Methods: Survivors who had undergone HSCT 1 to 3 years earlier (N = 408) were assessed for study eligibility.

Procedural distress in children with cancer: self-report, behavioral observations, and physiological parameters.

Objectives: To examine the relationship among different indicators of pain and distress, including self-report, behavioral observations, and physiological parameters, in children with cancer undergoing invasive procedures.

Methods: Forty-eight children between the ages of 3.1 and 17.

Integrating the child into home and community following the completion of cancer treatment.

The present article examines the period of time immediately following the completion of treatment for childhood cancer. The unique concerns experienced by families at this stage of the cancer treatment are examined, and the specific challenges that children face as they renegotiate roles and relationships that are necessary for successful reintegration into family, school, and community settings are discussed. Obstacles to successful reintegration that are frequently encountered by patients and families are reviewed, as well as variables that may promote optimal adjustment during this transitional period.

Brief report: empathy and psychological adjustment in siblings of children with cancer.

Objective: To examine relationships between empathy, illness concepts, sibling relationship variables, and psychological adjustment among siblings of children with cancer.

Methods: Participants were 29 siblings and 14 children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Data included self- and parent-report questionnaires completed during active treatment.

The Illness Management Survey: identifying adolescents' perceptions of barriers to adherence.

Objective: To develop a self-report measure of barriers to adherence and to evaluate its reliability and validity in a sample of adolescents with asthma.

Methods: The Illness Management Survey (IMS) was developed through item generation, expert panel review, and focus group administration. Adolescents with asthma (N = 152) completed the measure.

Brief report: does posttraumatic stress apply to siblings of childhood cancer survivors?

Objective: To investigate whether adolescent siblings of childhood cancer survivors experience posttraumatic stress (PTS).

Methods: Participants included 78 adolescent siblings of adolescent cancer survivors who completed self-report measures of anxiety, PTS, and perceptions of the cancer experience.

Results: Nearly half (49%) of our sample reported mild PTS and 32% indicated moderate to severe levels.

Mother-child separations among homeless and housed families receiving public assistance in New York City.

We examined the incidence, characteristics, and predictors of separations of children from mothers in 543 poor families receiving public assistance, 251 of whom had experienced homelessness during the previous 5 years. Forty-four percent of the homeless mothers and 8% of housed mothers were separated from one or more children. A total of 249 children were separated from 110 homeless families and 34 children from 23 housed families.