Developmental Foundations of Psychosocial Interventions in Pediatric Oncology: A Lifespan Framework for Resilience

TL;DR

Psychosocial interventions tailored to children's developmental stages improve emotional and academic outcomes for pediatric cancer patients.

Contribution

A lifespan framework is proposed to guide the design of developmentally targeted psychosocial interventions in pediatric oncology.

Findings

Developmentally targeted interventions improve emotional regulation and school adjustment in children with cancer.

Interventions involving family and peers show the most consistent positive outcomes.

Effectiveness of interventions varies by age and cancer type.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Targeted psychosocial interventions that take into account the developmental stage (such as therapeutic play, cognitive–behavioral techniques, and school reintegration programs) significantly improve the emotional regulation and school adjustment of children with cancer.The effectiveness of interventions varies by age and type of cancer, with interventions that involve family and peers having the most consistent positive outcomes.

Targeted psychosocial interventions that take into account the developmental stage (such as therapeutic play, cognitive–behavioral techniques, and school reintegration programs) significantly improve the emotional regulation and school adjustment of children with cancer.

The effectiveness of interventions varies by age and type of cancer, with interventions that involve family and peers having the most consistent positive outcomes.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Developing interventions based on developmental models can enhance the long-term mental resilience and academic success of child survivors.More cross-cultural and long-term research is needed to determine intervention models that can be widely applied in pediatric oncology programs.

Developing interventions based on developmental models can enhance the long-term mental resilience and academic success of child survivors.

More cross-cultural and long-term research is needed to determine intervention models that can be widely applied in pediatric oncology programs.

Background/Objectives: In recent years, improvements and innovative treatments in pediatric cancer have significantly increased survival rates, but challenges in both cognitive and psychosocial development in children remain significant. This review applies a comprehensive framework to evaluate psychosocial interventions in pediatric populations, offering novel insights into intervention strategies and their effectiveness across diverse contexts. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases for the period 2000–2024. Controlled studies, systematic reviews, and qualitative studies examining psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents with cancer or survivors were included. Quality assessment was performed using the RoB2 tool, and data were analyzed using narrative synthesis by age group and type of intervention. Results: Studies have shown that developmentally targeted interventions, such as therapeutic play, cognitive–behavioral therapy, and school reintegration programs, improve emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, and social adjustment in children with cancer. However, the heterogeneity of the samples and the variety of measurements limit the generalizability of the results. Conclusions: Integrating a developmental perspective into the design of psychosocial interventions can enhance their effectiveness and sustainability in pediatric oncology. Future research should focus on long-term, culturally sensitive programs and their implementation in clinical practice.

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