The Preliminary Study of Family Resilience and Its Correlates Among Cancer Parents

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of perceived stress, parent-adolescent communication, and family resilience among the parents with cancer. The family resilience framework that was developed by Walsh (2003) was used as the theoretical framework of this study.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design, and participants were included by convenience sampling. Inclusion criteria were 1) diagnosed with cancer over 3 months, and 2) being parents with adolescent children. Data were collected by a structured questionnaire that consisted of a demographic information datasheet and three scales: perceived stress scale, family resilience scale, and parent-adolescent communication scale. The IRB approvals ensured that participants’ human rights were considered and protected.

Results: Eleven patients (6 fathers; 5 mothers) were recruited from a medical center in the northern of Taiwan. Mean score of the perceived stress were 23 (SD=1.732) for fathers, and 19 (SD=3.194) for mothers. Mean score of the parent-adolescent communication were 66 (SD=5.489) for fathers, and 68.2 (SD=2.691) for mothers. Mean score of the family resilience were 93.83 (SD=7.855) for fathers, and 89.6 (SD=9.19) for mothers. In addition, family resilience negatively correlated with perceived stress (r = -0.170), and positively with parent-adolescent communication (r = 0.245).

Conclusion: These results reveal the feasibility of this study and showed this mean score of each scale may be various between fathers and mothers. Perceived stress and parent-adolescent communication may be the correlates of family resilience. Therefore, we need more participants to prove these preliminary findings.