# Illness Perceptions and Quality of Life in Childhood Cancer Survivors

## TL;DR

This study explores how different aspects of how childhood cancer survivors view their illness relate to their quality of life, offering insights for better psychosocial support.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific illness perception dimensions that most strongly predict quality of life in childhood cancer survivors.

## Key findings

- Emotional response, concern, consequences, and understanding are the most predictive illness perception dimensions for quality of life.
- Illness perceptions explain quality of life beyond demographic and medical factors.
- Age-specific relationships between illness perception and quality of life were identified.

## Abstract

The perception of illness in general has long been recognised as a significant predictor of the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors. However, illness perception is a relatively broad construct, and little is known, to date, about the association between the specific dimensions of illness perception and the quality of life. The results of this study therefore provide unique insights into which dimensions of illness perception (particularly emotional response, concern, consequences and understanding) may be useful to target in psychosocial interventions to improve the survivors’ quality of life, and for which dimensions interventions may be less effective.

Background: Although illness perception (IP) is a widely recognised factor in the psychosocial adjustment to cancer, little is known about the impact of individual dimensions of IP. This study aims to analyse the relationship between individual dimensions of IP and quality of life (QOL) in childhood cancer survivors. Methods: The sample consisted of 163 long-term survivors aged 11 to 25 who were administered the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire and the Minneapolis–Manchester Quality of Life Scale. Results: In the correlational analysis, all dimensions of IP were associated with individual dimensions of QOL, except for understanding and treatment control. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis controlling for demographic and medical factors showed that IP had predicted individual dimensions of QOL above and beyond these factors, with emotional response, concern, consequences and understanding being the most predictive dimensions. Several age-specific relationships between IP and QOL were also identified. Conclusions: Illness perceptions significantly contribute to explaining QOL of childhood cancer survivors above and beyond demographic and medical factors. These results may contribute to more effective targeting of psychosocial interventions promoting QOL of survivors.