Stress and Coping in Caregivers of Younger Patients With Cancer

Wake Forest University (WFU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Questionnaire Administration; Other: Physiologic Testing

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT02725385

P30CA012197 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

IRB00025224

NCI-2014-01878 (Registry Identifier)

CCCWFU 01413 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This research trial studies stress and coping in caregivers of younger patients with cancer. Learning how caregivers of children with cancer experience and cope with chronic stress may help to develop effective programs for reducing caregiver stress.

Full description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine how the experience of distress and use of positive emotion coping strategies by pediatric cancer caregivers differs from caregivers of children with no chronic illnesses.

II. To determine how relationships between positive coping strategies and caregiver distress change during the different phases of a child's illness.

III. To explore how chronic caregiver stress affects physiological reactivity to and recovery from an acute laboratory stressor.

IV. To explore how different positive coping mechanisms help chronically stressed caregivers recover from acute stressors and how these efficacies change during the different phases of the child's illness.

OUTLINE:

PART I:

Participants complete a questionnaire that measures several psychological constructs including stress, anxiety, depression, coping mechanisms, uncertainty, positive and negative emotions, and life satisfaction over 15-30 minutes.

PART II:

Participants undergo a Trier Social Stress Test during a laboratory session over 1.5 hours.

Enrollment: 163 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Ability to read and speak English
• Must serve as a primary caregiver of their child (ages 0-17) - as reported by the participant
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion criteria

• (Part 1 and Part 2): Must not have a family member who has already participated in the study
• (Part 2): Must not be pregnant or have a history of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, pituitary disorder, or adrenal disorder
• CONTROL PARTICIPANTS: (Part 1 and Part 2): Participants must not have a child with a chronic illness (e.g., diabetes, asthma, multiple sclerosis)

Trial design

163 participants in 1 patient group

Ancillary-Correlative (stress and coping)

Description:

PART I: Participants complete a questionnaire that measures several psychological constructs including stress, anxiety, depression, coping mechanisms, uncertainty, positive and negative emotions, and life satisfaction over 15-30 minutes. PART II: Participants undergo a Trier Social Stress Test during a laboratory session over 1.5 hours.

Treatment:

Other: Questionnaire Administration

Other: Physiologic Testing

Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis