Correlates of post‐traumatic growth following childhood and adolescent cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Objective A growing number of children and adolescents are experiencing and surviving cancer. This review aims to identify the demographic, medical, and psychosocial correlates of perceived post‐traumatic growth in individuals of any age who were affected by paediatric cancer. Findings will highlight protective factors that may facilitate post‐traumatic growth, allowing for directed social support, intervention, and follow‐up care. Methods A systematic search based on the key concepts “post‐traumatic growth,” “neoplasms,” and “paediatric” retrieved 905 records from online databases: Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PILOTS: Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Eligible studies were appraised as excellent quality with a high level of interrater reliability. The results of 18 studies were synthesised. Results After the removal of outliers, post‐traumatic growth shared small, negative associations with time since diagnosis ( r = −0.14) and time since treatment completion ( r = −0.19), and small, positive associations with age at diagnosis ( r = 0.20), age at survey ( r = 0.17), post‐traumatic stress symptoms ( r = 0.11), and social support ( r = 0.25). Post‐traumatic growth was positively and moderately associated with optimism ( r = 0.31). Conclusions S everal findings were consistent with a comparable meta‐analysis in adult oncology populations. Targeted social support, clinical intervention, and education may facilitate post‐traumatic growth. Longitudinal research in individuals affected by childhood and adolescent cancer would allow an examination of the effects of predictive variables on post‐traumatic growth over time.