Abstract
Undergoing cancer treatment significantly impacts quality of life (QOL). This study evaluated the role of anxiety, ethnicity, and language on QOL in children with a cancer diagnosis. Participants included 156 parent–child dyads in 3 groups: English-speaking Hispanic, Spanish-speaking Hispanic, and English-speaking non-Hispanic White. Parents completed measures of self-reported anxiety and their children’s perceived QOL. Children completed self-reported measures of anxiety and QOL. Families in which parents primarily spoke English reported higher parent-reported generic-module QOL (p = 0.0062), higher parent-reported cancer-specific QOL (p = 0.004), lower parent trait anxiety (p = 0.0005)), and lower child trait anxiety (p = 0.013), compared to families in which parents primarily spoke Spanish. Regression analyses were strongly supportive of a mediational role of parent trait anxiety in the association of ethnicity/language and parent-reported QOL. The results of this study suggest that children of Spanish-speaking parents may be at greater risk of decreased quality of life, as a function of increased parental anxiety.
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No conflict of interest by any author.
Parts of this study were funded by the American Pain Society (APS-47623) and the American Cancer Society (IRG – 98-279-07).
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Wahi, A., Phelan, M., Sherman-Bien, S. et al. The Impact of Ethnicity, Language, and Anxiety on Quality of Life in Children with Cancer. Applied Research Quality Life 11, 817–836 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9399-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9399-6