The role of social and cognitive processes in the relationship between fear network and psychological distress among parents of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

School climate and adolescents' prosocial behavior: the mediating role of perceived social support and resilience

Prosocial behavior is crucial for adolescent socialization and plays a positive role in all aspects of adolescent development. Based on ecosystem theory and self-determination theory, this study aimed to explore the relationship among school climate, perceived social support, psychological resilience, and prosocial behavior. With 1,688 high school students being sampled, we utilized the Perceived School Climate Questionnaire, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Chinese Version of Mental Resilience Scale, and the Adolescent Prosocial Tendency Scale. The results showed that: (1) school climate, perceived social support, psychological resilience, and prosocial behavior were all positively correlated; (2) perceived social support and psychological resilience could independently mediate the relationship between school climate and prosocial behavior; these two mediating variables could develop a chain mediation effect to influence the link between school climate and prosocial behavior.

Factors Associated with Emotional Distress in Children and Adolescents during Early Treatment for Cancer

PURPOSE

Children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer experience emotional distress, such as sadness, worrying, and irritability. However, there is little information about the psychological well-being of parents at the time of their child's diagnosis. We sought to identify factors that were associated with emotional distress in cancer patients as a basis for developing innovative psychological interventions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed on patients newly diagnosed with cancer at a single center in Korea from 2014 to 2016. Eighty-five patients and their mothers completed psychological inventories. To determine factors associated with emotional distress in patients, we assessed the psychological inventory results using multiple linear regression after performing correlation analysis.

RESULTS

The maternal Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score was positively correlated with total problem scores and externalizing scores in patients aged less than 7 years. In patients aged 7-12 years, there was no significant association between the patient's emotional distress and other variables. In contrast, the maternal BDI-II score was the strongest factor associated with patient depression in adolescents.

CONCLUSION

We suggest that the most important factor affecting emotional distress in children and adolescents with cancer is maternal depression, especially in patients aged 1-6 years and aged 13-17 years. Understanding the factors associated with emotional distress of cancer patients allows us to develop early psychiatric interventions for patients and their parents at the initial psychological crisis.