Introduction: The present study aims at analysing how social support received and provided by parents of children, adolescents and young adults (AYA) diagnosed with cancer, as well as their sociodemographic and clinical variables, affect those parents’ stress levels and life and family satisfaction.
Materials and Methods: A total of 112 parents of children and AYAs who had been diagnosed with cancer and who received treatment in Malaga participated in the study.
In the study, participated all parents who voluntarily agreed to fulfil the questionnaire. The main inclusion criterion was that their child had cancer. Instruments used were Questionnaire on the Frequency of and Satisfaction with Social Support (QFSSS), Paediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP), Life Satisfaction Scale and Family Satisfaction Scale.
Discussion: Analysing social support received and provided, as well as sociodemographic and clinical variables, allowed us to broaden the knowledge on the effect social support has on stress levels, life satisfaction and family satisfaction in parents of children and AYAs diagnosed with cancer. This may have relevant practical implications for the design of interventions that would improve parents’ lives.
