Survivors of Childhood Cancer in South Australia Attending a Late-Effects Clinic: A Descriptive Report of Psychological, Cognitive, and Academic Late-Effects

Abstract

This study provides a description of psychological late effects among a heterogeneous cohort of pediatric cancer survivors (N = 70) attending the South Australian Late-effects Clinic. Survivors reported more problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist compared to normative data but no differences in Sluggish Cognitive Tempo scores. Forty-six percent of the sample reported school difficulties, and 12% of the sample age older than 15 reported smoking. Late-effects clinics should continue to monitor psychological well-being and health behaviors. Further research is recommended to determine whether sluggish cognitive tempo is a useful concept for the assessment of survivors.

KEYWORDS:

• late effects
• survivors
• oncology
• cancer
• psychological problems
• sluggish cognitive tempo