Depression, anxiety and stress in adult children caregivers of oncological patients

Te aim of this study is to describe levels of depression, anxiety,
and stress in adult ofspring of cancer patients; and to analyze gen der diferences in psychological morbidity, as well as the association
between psychological morbidity and traumatic symptomatology.
Tis study is correlational with a sample of 214 adult ofspring who
completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and
the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Te results revealed that
6-60% of the participants showed ‘normal’ or ‘mild’ levels of stress,
anxiety, or depression; 15-26% ‘moderate’ levels; and 4-12% ‘severe’
or ‘extremely severe’ levels. Women had higher levels of anxiety and
stress than men. Positive correlations were found between the DASS 21 and the IES-R. In conclusion, some adult ofspring caregivers re veal severe levels of psychological morbidity. Te results show a need
for psychological intervention in this population, particularly in the
female gender.
Tis study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre
(PSI/01662), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national
funds, and co-fnanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the
PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653).