PARENTAL REPORTS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN CHILD SURVIVORS OF ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC-LEUKEMIA

Parents of 34 children ages 6 to 17 who had terminated treatment for a cute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) completed the Child Behavior Checklist /4-18 (CBCL) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). C ompared to general norms for these two rating scales, the child surviv ors of ALL showed significantly more problems in terms of social compe tence and internalizing behavior. Adolescents exhibited more difficult ies in these areas than younger children. Externalizing behavior compo site scores were elevated on the CBCL but not on the BASC. There were no differences found between children who had received cranial irradia tion and those who had not, and age at diagnosis did not affect curren t functioning. Children receiving special education services scored si gnificantly lower overall than those who were in regular classes.