¿Cómo explican los niños y adolescentes el cáncer avanzado o terminal de sus padres?

• Autores: Anna Rodríguez-Morera
• Localización: Psicooncología: investigación y clínica biopsicosocial en oncología, ISSN 1696-7240, Vol. 12, Nº. 1, 2015, págs. 171-182
• Idioma: español
• DOI: 10.5209/rev_psic.2015.v12.n1.48911
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Dialnet Métricas: 3 Citas
• Resumen
  • español

    Introducción: La comunicación entre padres e hijos es un proceso complejo, interactuando entre si diversos factores: desarrollo del niño, estilo educativo familiar y valores culturales. El objetivo del estudio fue aproximarse a las descripciones que los hijos hacen del cáncer avanzado o terminal de sus padres.

    Métodos: Estudio exploratorio cualitativo con muestra de 74 niños y adolescentes de edades entre 5 y 18 años, junto a sus progenitores enfermos y sus progenitores sanos.

    Mediante entrevista semiestructurada se registró la información que recibían los hijos de la enfermedad y su comprensión.

    Resultados: La cantidad y el tipo de información que explicaban ambos padres a sus hijos estaba condicionada por el dilema de contar o no el diagnóstico de cáncer. Los adolescentes recibían más información que los niños, sin diferencias entre sexos. La mayoría de niños y adolescentes daban explicaciones adaptativas, independientemente de su edad y sexo, siendo las definiciones de los adolescentes más técnicas y médicas.

    Conclusiones: Los equipos de Oncología deberían integrar de manera preventiva, sistemática y escrupulosamente específica la atención psicológica para todos los padres con cáncer avanzado o terminal y con hijos menores.

  • English

    Background: Communication between parents and children is a complex process, many factors interact: child�s development, family education style and cultural values. Objective of this study was get closer to the descriptions made by children about their parents advanced or terminal cancer.

    Methods: Exploratory qualitative study, with a sample of 74 children and adolescents, aged between 5 and 18 years, jointly with their parents having cancer and also with their healthy parents. Information received by children about the illness and his comprehension, where registered trough semi-structured interviews.

    Results: The amount and type of information explained from both parents to their children was conditioned by the dilemma of explaining or not the diagnosis of cancer. Adolescents received more information than children, without observing differences between sexes. The majority of children and adolescents descrived adaptively the disease from their parents, regardless of their age and sex, being adolescents who used more technical and medical definitions.

    Conclusions: Oncology teams should integrate the psychological care in a preventive, systematic and strictly specific way for all the parents with advanced or terminal cancer having children.

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