Characterization of Parent-child Interactions in Children with Medulloblastoma
Lakshanya Rajaganapathi1, Upassana Maniar2, Robert Noll3, Martina Bryndziar5, Jennifer Harman5, Heather Conklin5, Judy Cameron4
1Neuroscience, 2Applied Developmental Psychology, 3Pediatrics, 4Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 5Neuropsychology, St.Jude Children's Research Hospital
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two validated tools—Simple Interactions (SI) and Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO)—in assessing the quality of parent-child interactions in children with Medulloblastoma.
Background:
Young children diagnosed with Medulloblastoma experience limited access to enriched environments due to lengthy hospitalizations and show significant developmental delays, making strong parent-child interactions critical to promote cognitive, emotional and social developmental skills.
Design/Methods:
Ten parent-child dyads, with children 13-36 months, were videotaped in ten-minute play sessions occurring during active treatment for Medulloblastoma. SI domains of Connection, Reciprocity, and Opportunity to Grow, and PICCOLO domains of Affection, Responsiveness, Encouragement, and Teaching were scored in each videotape. Scores for each domain were compared to those of 20 parent-child dyads experiencing socioeconomic stress but not having a child with a medical condition (n=20).
Results:
Dyads with children being treated for Medulloblastoma had Reciprocity scores significantly higher (407±19.67) than those with children without a medical condition (345.02±8.54, p=0.01), while all other domain scores were not significantly different between the two groups.
Conclusions:
As reciprocity has been shown to strongly support child cognitive and social-emotional developmental skills, our findings suggest that children with Medulloblastoma are in a good position to benefit from interventions designed to improve developmental skills. Using both SI and PICCOLO appears to provide a comprehensive understanding of parent-child dynamics in children with Medulloblastoma.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.