Impact of Parents Cancer on Family Communication Models from Adolescents' Perspective

Cancer is a common and fatal disease that affects family members, especially adolescents, and causes changes in family communication patterns

To investigate the impact of parental cancer on family communication patterns from the adolescents' perspective.

The present study was a descriptive correlational study conducted on one hundred adolescents with parents with cancer who were selected by available sampling method. The research instruments were a demographic questionnaire and a revised standard questionnaire of the Ritchie and Fitzpatrick family communication model. The information was analysed using S.P.S.S. version 16 software and descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and correlation coefficient.

The proportion of consensual communication in the family was lowest (3%) and the proportion of laissez-faire communication in the family was highest (58%). The correlation is inverse in the number of children and in the range of treatment level, and a significant direct correlation is observed in the range of family communication pattern and child rank, but in other cases, the correlation coefficient shows no significant communication (p< 0/05).

From the adolescents' perspective, most families whose parents have cancer move toward a laissez-faire family. In these families, there is a low level of conversation and harmony, there is little interaction between family members, and usually only a limited number of topics are discussed. Therefore, the importance of family communication during this time, especially with adolescents, should be emphasized through appropriate education of families whose parents have cancer.