DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC ONCOLOGIC OR HEMATOLOGIC DISEASE

This study identified the frequency of depressive symptomatology in pa rents of children who were recently diagnosed with a chronic oncologic or hematologic disorder and explored the relationship between intrusi on coping, avoidance coping, parental perceptions of support, percepti ons of the severity of the child's illness, and depressive symptomatol ogy. A repeated measures design involving a convenience sample of 32 p arents (23 mothers and 9 fathers) completed questionnaires within 6 mo nths of their child's diagnosis (Time 1) and 21 parents (17 mothers an d 4 fathers) who completed them a second time approximately 12 months later (Time 2). Fourteen of the 32 parents at Time 1 and 7 (all mother s) of the 21 parents at Time 2 had scores indicating depressive sympto matology. No significant change in mean depression scores occurred bet ween Time 1 and Time 2. Avoidance coping was the only variable that si gnificantly predicted depressive symptomatology at Time 1. These findi ngs have significance for health care professionals working with paren ts of children diagnosed with chronic oncologic and hematologic diseas e.