Date of Graduation

Fall 9-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Program

Clinical Psychology (PsyD)

First Advisor

Dr. Dhara Meghani, PhD.

Second Advisor

Dr. David Martinez, PhD.

Third Advisor

Dr. Andrea Postier, PhD.

Abstract

Having a child with a chronic illness, such as cancer, can cause families significant distress. Parents of these children must make frequent decisions relating to their child’s care. Depending on factors such as health literacy and support from medical staff, parents may have varying levels of decisional conflict (DC) throughout the decision-making process. Compounding stress throughout their child’s illness can often contribute to lower levels of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) while their child is receiving hospital-based treatment. Parents with a non-English language preference (NELP) often have greater challenges navigating healthcare systems due to a lack of resources and limited health literacy. The present study investigated the association between parental DC and HRQoL among 35 Latinx and White parents caring for a child with cancer. Differences in DC and HRQoL between three language groups: monolingual English, monolingual Spanish, and bilingual English and Spanish were also examined. Results indicated that higher DC was a statistically significant predictor of lower HRQoL. Additionally, there was no significant difference between language groups on either DC or HRQoL. Results suggest the need for further support for parents making decisions for their children to limit possible impacts on their HRQoL while caring for their child. Future research should include studies in various geographic locations to gain data from more diverse hospital systems and improve the generalizability of results. Furthermore, qualitative research studies could be implemented to provide parents with opportunities to explain their experiences more in-depth, which could help inform directions for additional quantitative studies.

Download

Share

COinS