Peace of mind and sense of purpose as core existential issues among parents of children with cancer

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate issues experienced by parents of children with cancer and factors related to parents' ability to find peace of mind. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Participants: One hundred ninety-four parents of children with cancer (response rate, 70%) in the first year of cancer treatment. Main Outcome Measure: The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being sense of meaning subscale. Results: Principal components analysis of Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being sense of meaning subscale responses identified 2 distinct constructs, peace of mind (Cronbach α=.83) and sense of purpose (Cronbach α=.71). Scores ranged from 1 to 5, with 5 representing the strongest sense of peace or purpose. One hundred forty-seven of 181 parents (81%) scored 4 or higher for questions related to sense of purpose (mean [SD] score, 4.4 [0.6]). Only 44 of 185 parents (24%) had scores in the same range for peace of mind (mean [SD] score, 3.2 [0.9]) (P