Participants
The children receiving active treatment for different types of cancer
and their parents were recruited from the Department of Pediatrics of 4
general hospitals in Guangzhou, namely Pediatric Malignant Tumor Medical
Centers in South China (the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen
University), Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Nanfang Hospital
(Affiliated to Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China) and
Zhujiang Hospital (Affiliated to Southern Medical University). The
eligible participants were between 6 and 18 years of age, had a
diagnosis of cancer at least 1 month prior to the enrollment (including
both newly diagnosed and recurrent cases), and had no significant
cognitive or sensory deficits. Children who reported domestic violence
or sexual abuse or were in a critical condition were excluded. One of
the parents (father or mother) of a recruited child was invited to
participate in the study, and was excluded if they had records of
domestic violence or sexual abuse or had ongoing treatment for
depression.
The control group consists of healthy children and their parents
recruited from a public primary school in Tianhe District of Guangzhou.
Specifically, one class was randomly selected from each of the fourth,
fifth and sixth grades using the method of pure random numbers, and all
the students in the selected class were investigated. The students who
reported domestic violence or sexual abuse or had a history of serious
illness were excluded. The parents of the students were selected based
on the same inclusion and exclusion criteria for parents of children
with cancer.