Parental Directiveness in Childhood Survivors of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Parental directiveness is associated with internalizing problems in healthy children. Given the unique demands that childhood medical illnesses place on parents, it is important to determine whether parental directiveness operates differently in families with medically ill children. The current study tests whether cancer survivorship moderates the relation between directive parenting - one aspect of psychological control - and children's internalizing problems. Survivors (7-12 years old) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 25) and their mothers, and healthy controls (n = 22) and their mothers engaged in 10-minute parent-child interactions. Mothers completed a measure of children's psychosocial adjustment and observations of 10-minute parent-child interactions were obtained. Cancer survivorship moderated the relation between mothers' directive parenting behaviors and children's withdrawn/depressed symptoms. Findings suggest that demands associated with the childhood cancer experience may alter the context in which children experience directive parenting.