Childhood cancer is a lifelong, whole-family diagnosis. The coping strategies employed by parents of children with cancer have implications for the family system both during and after their diagnosed child’s treatment. The current study found that activism, or actions taken on behalf of the greater childhood cancer community by individual parents, is an activity that parents (N = 67) universally engaged in after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Consistent with study hypotheses, activism was positively associated with aspects of well-being such as hope and resilience, and it was also positively associated with an active coping style. Activism was not associated with depression in this sample. Notably, participants qualitatively reported acute stressors related to activism alongside rich benefits. The current study contributes significantly to understanding the role of childhood-cancer-related activism as a coping strategy for parents whose children have been diagnosed with the disease.
","abstract_html":"<p>Childhood cancer is a lifelong, whole-family diagnosis. The coping strategies employed by parents of children with cancer have implications for the family system both during and after their diagnosed child’s treatment. The current study found that activism, or actions taken on behalf of the greater childhood cancer community by individual parents, is an activity that parents (<em>N</em> = 67) universally engaged in after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Consistent with study hypotheses, activism was positively associated with aspects of well-being such as hope and resilience, and it was also positively associated with an active coping style. Activism was not associated with depression in this sample. Notably, participants qualitatively reported acute stressors related to activism alongside rich benefits. The current study contributes significantly to understanding the role of childhood-cancer-related activism as a coping strategy for parents whose children have been diagnosed with the disease.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Neenan, Alexandra"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Flora Hoodin, Ph.D.","Angela D. Staples, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["caregiver coping","childhood cancer","coping","pediatric psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1061","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Flora Hoodin, Ph.D.","Angela D. Staples, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Neenan, Alexandra"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-06-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["caregiver coping","childhood cancer","coping","pediatric psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1061"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Childhood cancer is a lifelong, whole-family diagnosis. The coping strategies employed by parents of children with cancer have implications for the family system both during and after their diagnosed child’s treatment. The current study found that activism, or actions taken on behalf of the greater childhood cancer community by individual parents, is an activity that parents (N = 67) universally engaged in after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Consistent with study hypotheses, activism was positively associated with aspects of well-being such as hope and resilience, and it was also positively associated with an active coping style. Activism was not associated with depression in this sample. Notably, participants qualitatively reported acute stressors related to activism alongside rich benefits. The current study contributes significantly to understanding the role of childhood-cancer-related activism as a coping strategy for parents whose children have been diagnosed with the disease.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Activism as a coping strategy among parents of children with cancer"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michelle Byrd, Ph.D.","Flora Hoodin, Ph.D.","Angela D. Staples, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Neenan, Alexandra"],"dc:date.available":["2021-06-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Childhood cancer is a lifelong, whole-family diagnosis. The coping strategies employed by parents of children with cancer have implications for the family system both during and after their diagnosed child’s treatment. The current study found that activism, or actions taken on behalf of the greater childhood cancer community by individual parents, is an activity that parents (N = 67) universally engaged in after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Consistent with study hypotheses, activism was positively associated with aspects of well-being such as hope and resilience, and it was also positively associated with an active coping style. Activism was not associated with depression in this sample. Notably, participants qualitatively reported acute stressors related to activism alongside rich benefits. The current study contributes significantly to understanding the role of childhood-cancer-related activism as a coping strategy for parents whose children have been diagnosed with the disease.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1061"],"dc:subject":["caregiver coping","childhood cancer","coping","pediatric psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Activism as a coping strategy among parents of children with cancer"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}