Relationship between perception of family and friends’ support and psychosocial adaptation in adolescents suffering from cancer

Cancer is a common chronic disease that affects all aspects of the patients’ personal, familial, and social life, especially in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between the perception of family and friends’ support and psychosocial adaptation in adolescents with cancer. Setting and Design: Among adolescents who were referred to two hospitals of Shiraz Medical University, 95 adolescents aged 11–20 years were selected according to the inclusion criteria and by available sampling method from July to November 2020.

In this descriptive-correlational study, data were collected through demographic characteristics form, perceived support by family, perceived support by friends, and psychosocial adaptation questionnaires. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and statistical tests such as independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficients at the significance level of P < 0.05.

Most patients had a moderate perception of family and friends’ support. Psychosocial adaptation to the disease with a total score of 2.01 was at the level of strong adaptation. The perception score of family support was directly related to the score of psychosocial adaptation in the family environment dimension (P < 0.05), and the perception score of friends’ supports was directly related to the total score of psychosocial adaptation and attitudes toward illness and social environment (P < 0.05).

According to this study’s results, it was proved that there is a correlation between the perception of family and friends’ support with psychosocial adaptation to the disease in adolescents suffering from cancer.