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Life Adaptation in Adolescent Brain-Tumor Survivors

Thursday, 15 July 2010

Chin-Mi Chen, PhD, RN
School of Nursing, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Yueh-Chih Chen, PhD, RN
Graduate Institute of Nursing, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Taipei, Thailand

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the correlates of life adaptation of adolescent brain-tumor survivors.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to know purpose in life could mediate the impact of emotional problems on life adaptation.

Purpose: Life adaptation among survivors of childhood brain tumors has become a matter of concern due to increasing risk for developing health problems. Two aims included: 1) to examine differences in life adaptation of ASBT with different health problems, and 2) to test the effect of purpose in life on the relationship between health problems and life adaptation.

Methods: Fifty-five adolescents (13 to 18 years old) who had completed treatment for brain tumors participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Medical history was collected from medical records.

Results: 1) Participants with emotional problems had a lower mean life adaptation score than those without emotional problems (t = -5.05; p < .01). 2) Emotional problems (b = -0.52; p < .01) was identified as a correlate of life adaptation (R2 = 0.47; p < .01). 3) Purpose in life reduced the impact of emotional problems on life adaptation up to 33.18% (R2 = 0.53; p < .05).

Conclusion: Emotional problems worsen life adaptation among ASBT. Purpose in life mediates the effect of emotional problems on life adaptation. Interventions are recommended to foster purpose in life of ASBT with a goal of improving their life adaptation.

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