Dataset Information

Relationship Between Caregiver Uncertainty, Problem-Solving, and Psychological Adjustment in Pediatric Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The current study examined the roles of constructive and dysfunctional problem-solving strategies in the relationships between illness uncertainty and adjustment outcomes (i.e., anxious, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms) in caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer.

Methods

Two hundred thirty-eight caregivers of children (0-19 years of age) newly diagnosed with cancer (2-14 weeks since diagnosis) completed measures of illness uncertainty, problem-solving strategies, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress.

Results

A mediation model path analysis assessed constructive and dysfunctional problem-solving strategies as mediators between illness uncertainty and caregiver anxious, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Dysfunctional problem-solving scores partially mediated the relationships between illness uncertainty and anxious, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Constructive problem-solving scores did not mediate these relationships.

Conclusions

The current findings suggest that illness uncertainty and dysfunctional problem-solving strategies, but not constructive problem-solving strategies, may play a key role in the adjustment of caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer. Interventions aimed at managing illness uncertainty and mitigating the impact of dysfunctional problem-solving strategies may promote psychological adjustment.

SUBMITTER: Basile NL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8521223 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Relationship Between Caregiver Uncertainty, Problem-Solving, and Psychological Adjustment in Pediatric Cancer.

Basile Nathan L NL Chardon Marie L ML Peugh James J Edwards Clayton S CS Szulczewski Lauren L Morrison Caroline F CF Nagarajan Rajaram R El-Sheikh Ayman A Chaney John M JM Pai Ahna L H ALH Mullins Larry L LL

Journal of pediatric psychology 20211001 10

<h4>Objective</h4>The current study examined the roles of constructive and dysfunctional problem-solving strategies in the relationships between illness uncertainty and adjustment outcomes (i.e., anxious, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms) in caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>Two hundred thirty-eight caregivers of children (0-19 years of age) newly diagnosed with cancer (2-14 weeks since diagnosis) completed measures of illness uncertainty, problem-so ...[more]

PMID: 34350968

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Project description:In this paper we argue that a synthesis of findings across the various sub-areas of research in complex problem solving and consequently progress in theory building is hampered by an insufficient differentiation of complexity and difficulty. In the proposed framework of person, task, and situation (PTS), complexity is conceptualized as a quality that is determined by the cognitive demands that the characteristics of the task and the situation impose. Difficulty represents the quantifiable level of a person's success in dealing with such demands. We use the well-documented "semantic effect" as an exemplar for testing some of the conceptual assumptions derived from the PTS framework. We demonstrate how a differentiation between complexity and difficulty can help take beyond a potentially too narrowly defined psychometric perspective and subsequently gain a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms behind this effect. In an empirical study a total of 240 university students were randomly allocated to one of four conditions. The four conditions resulted from contrasting the semanticity level of the variable labels used in the CPS system (high vs. low) and two instruction conditions for how to explore the CPS system's causal structure (starting with the assumption that all relationships between variables existed vs. starting with the assumption that none of the relationships existed). The variation in the instruction aimed at inducing knowledge acquisition processes of either (1) systematic elimination of presumptions, or (2) systematic compilation of a mental representation of the causal structure underpinning the system. Results indicate that (a) it is more complex to adopt a "blank slate" perspective under high semanticity as it requires processes of inhibiting prior assumptions, and (b) it seems more difficult to employ a systematic heuristic when testing against presumptions. In combination, situational characteristics, such as the semanticity of variable labels, have the potential to trigger qualitatively different tasks. Failing to differentiate between 'task' and 'situation' as independent sources of complexity and treating complexity and difficulty synonymously threaten the validity of performance scores obtained in CPS research.

Dataset Information

Relationship Between Caregiver Uncertainty, Problem-Solving, and Psychological Adjustment in Pediatric Cancer.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Relationship Between Caregiver Uncertainty, Problem-Solving, and Psychological Adjustment in Pediatric Cancer.

Similar Datasets

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