Mothers With Breast Cancer Susceptible to Depression, Parenting Stress 

Mothers with breast cancer are susceptible to experiencing depression and parenting stress; therefore, tailoring support to meet their needs is important, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to survey females with breast cancer from June 2020 through April 2021 in Seoul, South Korea, to learn more about clinical factors in parenting stress in mothers with breast cancer and the association between maternal depression and parenting stress and their offspring’s emotional development. 

Data from 699 females, with a mean age of 39.6 years, of whom 499 had children (mean age, 8.0 years), were included. Using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-Revised (CESD-R) scale, depression was found to be more common in the women with children (odds ratio, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.01-5.05). 

Additional tools used were the Korean Parenting Stress Index Short Form (K-PSI-SF), a 36-question tool that graded parental distress, parent-child dysfunctional interaction, and difficult child; the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess the emotional and behavioral problems of children and adolescents; the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI); and the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). 

Various factors played into the association between parenting stress and depression, including the children’s age, temperament, emotional problems, and sleeping patterns. Those patients whose children were 6 years and older reported the highest parenting-related stress levels.

Maternal depression was associated with disease duration, especially a short disease duration, and GnRH treatment. However, breast cancer stage, BRCA1 and BRCA2 sequence variation, and other treatment modalities were not associated with depression.

These results highlight the importance of identifying high-risk populations and psychological interventions to address parenting-related stress in patients with breast cancer. Additionally, because this meta-analysis revealed maternal depression had implications for children’s emotional development, future evaluations of the children as they grow up was suggested. 

“These findings underscored the susceptibility of mothers with breast cancer to both depression and parenting stress, regardless of disease duration, emphasizing the imperative for counseling and support tailored to this patient group,” the researchers concluded. “Furthermore, this research highlighted that emotional development of children whose mothers had breast cancer was not significantly different from reference values, which could offer solace to these patients amid the challenges they encounter during their illness.”

Reference

Shin Y, Kim H, Lee T, et al. Factors in parenting stress in young patients with breast cancer and implications for children’s emotional development: The PSYCHE Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(11):e2344835. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.44835