PARENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND CHILDRENS ADJUSTMENT TO LEUKEMIA

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relati onship between parental psychopathology and psychosocial functioning o f children in whom acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) has been diagnosed . Method: The sample consisted of 61 mother-child dyads. Twenty-one (3 4%) mothers met DSM-III-R criteria for at least one psychiatric disord er based on a Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis (SCID). Resu lts: Findings revealed that compared with children whose mothers did n ot meet DSM-III-R criteria for a psychiatric disorder, children with m others who evidenced a psychiatric disorder self-reported more anxiety and a maladaptive attributional style and were reported by their moth ers as evidencing more depression and a range of internalizing behavio ral symptoms. Conclusions: Although our earlier research suggested tha t ALL children show relatively few symptoms of psychopathology, the pr esent report reveals high rates of psychiatric difficulties in the mot hers of ALL youth. These findings and their implications are discussed within a model that incorporates behavioral pediatrics and developmen tal psychopathology.