To date, there are only few studies on the impact of parents’ oncological illness on children’s behavior and experience. Furthermore, there are no studies on how coping differs in single-child families in comparison to multi-child families. The present state of the art in longitudinal sibling research cannot sufficiently answer this question.

Based on research in the fields of divorce and siblings, it is assumed that siblings are better able to cope with parent’s cancer. Divorce research has shown that mutual support enables siblings to better compensate, and that they can provide each other with support. This is particularly the case among female siblings.

The aim is to clarify the following questions:

1. Whether and if yes, then under which circumstances the presence of siblings presents a resource for the psychological coping with parental illness
2. Do siblings have different reaction/coping patterns than single children?
3. Which problem-related intervention strategies are necessary in families with several children in order to consider the special aspects of the sibling relationship in counseling? (Development of a counseling module)
4. Does the oncological illness of a caregiver change already existing sibling relationship dynamics? (For example, does the threat of losing a parent lead to an increase in sibling rivalry?)

Data collection in prospective longitudinal study design with three measurement points and conform to the network-wide design for generic evaluation of the COSIP-counseling: pre, post and follow-up measurement after six months.

Responsible:

Prof. Dr. med. Dipl.-Psych. Ulrike Lehmkuhl

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Project Management:

Dr. med. Heike Weschenfelder

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Charité – University Medical Center Berlin

Campus Virchow-Klinikum

Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy

Augustenburger Platz 1

13353 Berlin

Telephone: 030 / 450 566 227

Clinic: http://kjp.charite.de

Project: http://kjp.charite.de/patienten/kinder_krebskranker_eltern