Quality of self-report coping measures for children and adolescents with cancer: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Cancer and its treatments cause significant stress in children and adolescents. This stress is associated with risks of emotional and behavioral problem development and interfering with adherence to treatment regimens. Instruments enabling the precise evaluation of the coping behaviors of pediatric patients with cancer in clinical practice are needed.

Aims: The study aimed to identify existing self-report measures of pediatric coping patterns and to evaluate their psychometric properties, to aid the selection of tools for application to pediatric patients with cancer.

Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA statement and registered in PROSPERO (CRD 42021279441). Nine international databases were searched from their inception to September 2021. Studies with the main goal of developing and psychometrically validating pediatric coping measures with populations aged <20 years, not specific to any disease or situation, and published in English, Mandarin, or Indonesian were included. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist was applied.

Results: Of 2527 studies initially identified, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Five scales had positive internal consistency ratings and adequate reliability (α > .7). Construct validity ratings were positive for five scales (41.6%), intermediate for three (25%), and poor for three (25%). No information was available for one (8.3%) scale. The Coping Scale for Children and Youth (CSCY) and Pediatric Cancer Coping Scale (PCCS) had the largest numbers of positive ratings. Only the PCCS was developed for pediatric patients with cancer and showed acceptable reliability and validity.

Linking evidence to action: The findings of this review highlight the need to increase the validation of existing coping measures in clinical and research settings. Some instruments seem to be specific to adolescent's cancer coping assessment and knowledge of these validity and reliability of the instruments may improve the quality of clinical interventions.

Keywords: adolescent; assessment; child; coping; measurement; systematic review.