Social and emotional adjustment in young survivors of childhood cancer

Abstract

An overview is given of the social and emotional adjustment in young survivors of childhood cancer. The results are described in terms of self-esteem, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress (emotional adjustment), and in terms of behavioral functioning, social competence and school performance (socio-behavioral adjustment). Furthermore, factors related to survivors' adjustment are reported: demographics, illness- and treatment-related factors, coping and social support, and family and parental functioning. Limitations of the studies and consequences for future research are discussed. On the whole, the adjustment of young cancer survivors as a group was reasonably good, but the findings with respect to the emotional and social adjustment were inconsistent. This might be attributed to limitations of the study designs and the fact that the studies were not all directly comparable. In order to gain more insight into the predictors of adjustment, longitudinal studies are recommended, which should include control groups or standardized instruments with norm data, and use cancer-specific measures in addition to generic measures.