The relationship between quality of life and social support among adolescents

Abstract

Dramatically improved survival rates among youth with cancer have led to increased focus on the quality of life (QOL) of survivors and the factors that mediate these outcomes. Social support appears to be one such mediator given its established role as a protective factor against stress and demonstrated association with physical and psychological status among both adults and youth with cancer. However, research has yet to investigate the relationship between social support and QOL among adolescent cancer survivors. Thus, this archival study examined both the relationship between global social support and QOL and which sources of social support were most predictive of QOL among adolescent cancer survivors. Participants in the multi-site, longitudinal study from which the current data were drawn included 94 cancer survivors between 11 and 21 years of age. All were free of cancer and had completed treatment within 6 months of data collection. Global social support was found to be significantly correlated with Psychosocial QOL but not with Physical QOL. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that close friends were the only measured source of perceived social support that contributed significantly to the prediction of Physical QOL, over and above that made by treatment with central nervous system (CNS) radiation or bone marrow transplant (BMT). These treatment variables accounted for 3 times more of the variance in Physical QOL than did social support, suggesting that the direct effects of cancer and its treatment may play a far more significant role in contributing to Physical QOL than does social support. In contrast, perceived social support from fathers, mothers, and psychologists/psychiatrists each contributed significantly to the prediction of Psychosocial QOL, after controlling for the effects of a CNS tumor diagnosis and treatment with CNS radiation. Theoretical, research, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. The findings suggest that social support is an important mediator of QOL among adolescent cancer survivors but that the relationship between these 2 multifaceted constructs is complex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)