The stress-buffering hypothesis of social support has been extensively explored and suggests that social support offers resources and promotes coping to buffer stress. Social support is broadly defined as the provision of assistance, comfort, or resources to individuals that alleviate stress and assist in coping. Due to distress and challenges with adjustment among siblings of children with cancer, supportive care, including providing education and psychological supports, for siblings is recommended as a standard of care in pediatric oncology. Siblings may experience poor psychosocial adjustment, including poor school functioning, cancer-related traumatic stress, and poorer quality of life. The focus on the needs of the diagnosed child often leaves siblings feeling anxious, alone, and distracted. This study provides foundational knowledge about siblings’ support networks, which can be utilized to design interventions that improve support for siblings of children with cancer.Ī pediatric cancer diagnosis causes disruptions within the family including shifting of roles, finances, and resources. Friends and brothers or sisters most often provided validation and companionship while instrumental and informational supports came from parents. Support network size ranged from 3 to 10 individuals (M = 6 ± 1.9) siblings most frequently reported mothers as sources of support (n = 22, 91.7%), followed by fathers (n = 19, 79.2%), close friends (n = 19, 79.2%) and siblings (with or without cancer) (n = 17, 70.8%). Network characteristics and patterns of support were explored. Data were coded for support type (emotional, instrumental, informational, validation, companionship) and support provider (e.g., mother, teacher, friend). During semi-structured interviews, siblings (ages 12–17) constructed ecomaps describing their support networks. Additionally, we describe how the support siblings receive addresses what they feel are the hardest aspects of being a sibling of a child with cancer. This study addresses this gap in our understanding of the social networks and sources of support for adolescents with a brother or sister who has cancer. Siblings of children with cancer need support to ameliorate the challenges they encounter however, little is known about what types and sources of support exist for siblings.
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