Characterizing Lone Parenting: A Multi-institutional Pilot Study of the Perceptions of Support and Perceived Stress of Lone Parents of Children With Cancer - Full Text View

Sponsor:	National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Information provided by:	National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00969579

Purpose

This study will describe the perceptions of support and distress outcomes of single/lone parents of a child with cancer.

Background:

Parents and families of children with chronic illnesses have stressors, including financial stress, role strains, separations, and interruptions in daily routines and plans for the future. All of these experiences may lead directly and indirectly to parental stress.
The number of families headed by single or lone parents is increasing. Little work has been done to better understand if the needs of parents who are providing care for a child on their own differ from parents who do not classify themselves as lone. Identifying parents who may need additional support within a pediatric oncology setting is very important so that appropriate support is provided.

Objectives:

- To better understand the social, emotional, and practical effects of lone parents on children with cancer.

Eligibility:

All parents whose child has been diagnosed with cancer between 6 and 18 months before enrolling on the study.
Participants must be able to speak and read English

Design:

Parents will be asked to complete a questionnaire during one of their child's clinic or hospital visits.
The questionnaire will ask about the parenting experience since the child was diagnosed with cancer. It will ask about the support the parent has received from family and friends since the diagnosis.
The questionnaire will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Condition
Cancer

Study Type:	Observational
Study Design:	Time Perspective: Prospective
Official Title:	Characterizing Lone Parenting: A Multi-Institutional Pilot Study of the Perceptions of Support and Perceived Stress of Lone Parents of Children With Cancer

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Cancer Parenting

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Estimated Enrollment:	275
Study Start Date:	August 2009

Detailed Description:

Background:

Research examining the potential impact of childhood chronic illness on parents and families has delineated a myriad of stressors that parents may experience, including financial stress, role strains, separations, interruptions in daily routines and plans for the future, and general uncertainty regarding the child's prognosis.
All of these possible experiences may lead directly and indirectly to anxiety, depression, posttraumatic-stress, hopelessness, and feelings of loss of control in parents and families.
The number of families headed by single, or lone parents has increased significantly, with 3 in 10 children now living in single parent homes.
It is not known whether distress is greater for parents who are lone parents.
Lone-parent families earn on average only 55% of what married-parent families earn, and are four times more likely to live in poverty.
It is unclear how lone parents trying to navigate the complex needs of maintaining a home, family, and a chronically ill child adapt to these challenges.
It is also unclear how many parents who check single on a standardized forced choice questionnaire format consider themselves to be lone when it comes to the experience of caring for their child with cancer.

Objective:

Aim 1: To define and characterize lone parents
Aim 2: To describe perceptions of social support and how they relate to lone and non-lone parenting
Aim 3: To identify distress outcomes in parents of children with cancer who identify themselves as being lone when it comes to the experience of caring for a child with cancer

Study Population:

English and Spanish speaking parents of a child (1through 17 years) with a malignancy, diagnosed 6-18 months before recruitment will be invited to participate in this study.

Design:

-This is a pilot, exploratory study designed to describe the perceptions of support and distress outcomes of single/lone parents of a child with cancer. Participants will be administered a Lone Parent Support Questionnaire designed for this study. The study will be completed in one visit (< 30mins).

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years to 65 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

INCLUSION CRITERIA:
1. Parents or primary guardians of children (ages 6 months through 17 years) with any malignancy whose child is 6-18 months post-diagnosis.
2. Ability to give informed consent.
3. English or Spanish speaking

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Severe psychological distress which - in the judgment of the Principal or Associate Investigators at each respective collection site- would compromise the participant's ability to understand the questionnaire or is likely to interfere with the study procedures or results.
Relapse of malignancy

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00969579

Contacts

Contact: Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office	(800) 411-1222	prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov
Contact: TTY	1-866-411-1010

Locations

United States, Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Recruiting
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
United States, California
Miller Children's Hospital	Recruiting
Long Beach, California, United States
United States, Maryland
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike	Recruiting
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
Sub-Investigator: Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office (PRPL) For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact
United States, Massachusetts
Dana Farber Cancer Institute	Recruiting
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
United States, Mississippi
University Of Mississippi Medical Center	Recruiting
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
United States, New York
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Recruiting
New York, New York, United States, 10021
United States, Ohio
Akron Children's Hospital	Recruiting
Akron, Ohio, United States
United States, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University	Recruiting
Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States
United States, Tennessee
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	Recruiting
Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105
United States, Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin	Recruiting
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

More Information

Additional Information:

NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site

Publications:

Barakat LP, Kazak AE, Meadows AT, Casey R, Meeske K, Stuber ML. Families surviving childhood cancer: a comparison of posttraumatic stress symptoms with families of healthy children. J Pediatr Psychol. 1997 Dec;22(6):843-59.

Barrera M, D'Agostino NM, Gibson J, Gilbert T, Weksberg R, Malkin D. Predictors and mediators of psychological adjustment in mothers of children newly diagnosed with cancer. Psychooncology. 2004 Sep;13(9):630-41.

Brown RT, Wiener L, Kupst MJ, Brennan T, Behrman R, Compas BE, David Elkin T, Fairclough DL, Friebert S, Katz E, Kazak AE, Madan-Swain A, Mansfield N, Mullins LL, Noll R, Patenaude AF, Phipps S, Sahler OJ, Sourkes B, Zeltzer L. Single parents of children with chronic illness: an understudied phenomenon. J Pediatr Psychol. 2008 May;33(4):408-21. Epub 2007 Sep 29.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00969579 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	090194, 09-M-0194
Study First Received:	August 29, 2009
Last Updated:	December 24, 2011
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC):

Cancer
Psychosocial Stress
Parenting

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on February 09, 2012