Interrelations between siblings and parents in families living with children with cancer

Abstract

Having a child diagnosed with cancer is a stressful event for the family. This exploratory multimethod study utilized both quantitative and qualitative multiinformant methodologies to investigate the relationships between parental family functioning and siblings' health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to describe interrelations between the experiences of parents and siblings of children with childhood cancer. A total of 14 Japanese families participated in the quantitative study, and 4 families of the 14 participated in the qualitative study. In-depth, semistructured interviews revealed three family-unit stages during the time course of the ill child's treatment that included particular parent-sibling interrelations. We also found strong correlation between parental family functioning and siblings' HRQOL in the quantitative study. The results suggest the importance of family nursing interventions directed to individual family members and the family unit that focus on strengthening the parent-sibling relationship and supporting families who are experiencing childhood cancer.

Keywords: Japan; childhood cancer; family functioning; interrelations; quality of life; siblings; sibling–parent relationship.