Threat Appraisal and Adjustment Among Children with Cancer

Abstract

A quantitative measure of appraisals of threat appropriate for the experience of coping with childhood cancer was developed. Forty children with cancer completed the measure in response to a medically related event, a peer-related event, and a family related event. Child-rated hope and parent-rated measures of dependency, anxiety/depression, and peer relations served as outcome variables. Four factors of threat were created on the basis of previous research and intercor-relations of the nine subscales composing the current measure: threat to self, threat to others, threat of loss, and threat of physical harm to self. The results indicated that children's ratings of the four types of threat varied with the context of the stressful event (i.e., medical, peer, or family). Regression analyses provided initial support for a direct relationship between specific dimensions of threat and measures of adjustment. Implications for theory and applications are discussed.

Key Words:

• Pediatric cancer
• stress
• appraisal
• child adjustment
• coping
• chronic illness