Parental awareness of sibling adjustment: Perspectives of parents and siblings of children with cancer.

Abstract

= 17, ages 8-17) from 13 families completed in-depth qualitative interviews regarding siblings' psychosocial adjustment to cancer. Interviews were coded for dimensions of family functioning based on the McMaster Model and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Families were stratified based on higher or lower levels of parental awareness (i.e., knowledge of the presence, severity, or content of siblings' cancer-related feelings). Themes related to communication, affective involvement, roles, problem-solving, and affective responsiveness influenced parental awareness. Parental awareness was hindered by siblings' reluctance to communicate their feelings to parents due to the messages they received about cancer (e.g., be positive/helpful), siblings' hesitancy to rely on parents for emotional support, and parents not consistently asking about siblings' emotions. Additionally, parents' cancer-related stress and family disruptions reduced parental focus on siblings and decreased parents' tolerance of siblings' negative emotions. Higher parental awareness was facilitated by closer relationships prediagnosis, consistent communication, and affective problem-solving in response to cancer-related changes. Findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the family processes underlying parental awareness and inform best practices for sibling assessment and support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).