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Illness Cognitions Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Have a Parent with Cancer: a Qualitative Exploration Using the Common-Sense Model of Self-regulation as a Framework

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Abstract

Background

Individuals construct beliefs about an illness based on their own perceptions, interpretation, and understanding of the illness and its treatment. These beliefs (collectively referred to as “illness cognitions” or “representations”) can have implications for psychological outcomes in family members and carers of an individual with an illness. The aim of this study was to explore young people’s perceptions of their parent’s cancer using the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation as a theoretical framework.

Methods

Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with young people who had a parent diagnosed with cancer. Interview transcripts were analysed using deductive thematic analysis techniques.

Results

Eleven young people aged 15–24 years participated in the study. Major themes aligned with the dimensions of the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation. Young people described their experiences with parental cancer with reference to cognitive representations (beliefs about the illness identity, their understanding or coherence of the illness, and consequences, curability or controllability, timeline, and cause of the illness) and emotional representations (emotional beliefs and subjective feelings about the illness).

Conclusions

Findings indicate that young people’s perceptions of their parent’s cancer can be usefully described within the framework of the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation. Future research should investigate the relationships between young people’s illness cognitions, coping strategies, and psychological adjustment following their parent’s cancer diagnosis. This will provide valuable insights for the development of interventions that target specific types of illness cognitions associated with maladaptive coping strategies and poor adjustment.

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Notes

  1. CanTeen is an Australian support organization for young people affected by cancer, including young people diagnosed with cancer, and young people who have a brother, sister, or parent diagnosed with cancer.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Paige Fletcher, who is a research assistant at Flinders University, for her assistance with coding interview transcripts. The authors especially thank the young people who participated in this research for their willingness to share their experiences.

Funding

This study was funded by the Flinders Foundation, with the support of its donors and partners.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, SA, 5042, Australia

    Chloe Fletcher, Carlene Wilson, Ingrid Flight & Kate Gunn

  2. Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia

    Carlene Wilson

  3. School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia

    Carlene Wilson

  4. University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

    Kate Gunn

  5. CanTeen Australia, 75 King Street, Newtown, NSW, 2042, Australia

    Pandora Patterson

  6. Cancer Nursing Research Unit, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Pandora Patterson

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  1. Chloe Fletcher
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Correspondence to Chloe Fletcher.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Fletcher, C., Wilson, C., Flight, I. et al. Illness Cognitions Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Have a Parent with Cancer: a Qualitative Exploration Using the Common-Sense Model of Self-regulation as a Framework. Int.J. Behav. Med. 26, 531–541 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09793-4

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