The Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy on Emotional Distress, Coping Strategies and Resilience of Adolescents With Cancer

The Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy on Improving Emotional Distress and Coping Strategies and Enhancing Resilience of Adolescents With Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Adolescents with cancer who were diagnosed within two years suffered severe emotional distress. Bibliotherapy therapy uses healing materials as a medium to enable individuals experiencing emotional distress to obtain emotional healing through story situations, thereby enhancing resilience. However, there is a lack of research on bibliotherapy in adolescents with cancer. Therefore, the investigators would like to evaluate the effectiveness of interactive bibliotherapy in improving emotional distress and coping strategies and enhancing the resilience of adolescents with cancer compared to reading bibliotherapy.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pediatric Cancer; Emotional Distress
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: interactive bibliotherapy; Other: reading bibliotherapy

Detailed Description

A multicenter randomized controlled trial will be conducted. Adolescents aged 10 to 19 years and diagnosed with cancer or relapse during the first two years will be included in the study. Seventy participants from three medical centers in northern Taiwan will be assigned to experimental or comparison groups through blocked randomization. The experimental group will receive the interactive bibliotherapy twice, and the comparison group will receive the reading bibliotherapy twice. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Pediatric Cancer Coping Scale, and Haase Adolescent Resilience in Illness Scale will be used to measure participants' emotional distress, coping strategies and resilience at the time points of pre-intervention, after the intervention, and follow-up for a month after the intervention. An interview will be conducted over the intervention for a month. The generalized estimating equation will be used to analyze the two groups' emotional distress, coping strategies, and resilience. The content analysis will be performed to analyze the interview data. It is hoped that the results of this study can prove that bibliotherapy has the potential to improve emotional distress and coping strategies and enhance resilience in adolescents with cancer. This study is expected to provide health providers with novel evidence on the effectiveness of an intervention to take care of patients with cancer. Furthermore, this study provides an interdisciplinary intervention of nursing and other domain, and it may be extended to further research to improve patient care quality through cross-disciplinary coordination.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 27
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 11221
    • National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 10 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents aged 10 to 19 years.
• Adolescents were diagnosed with leukemia or osteosarcoma.
• Adolescents were diagnosed with cancer or relapsed during the first two years.
• Adolescents who have received cancer treatment.
• Adolescents who can read picture books and communicate with Chinese.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents who have psychiatric history.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: interactive bibliotherapy; All adolescents enrolled in the experimental group will receive two times of interactive bibliotherapy with an interval of 7 to 14 days. The researcher will read the story to the participant and then discuss it with him/her.	Other: interactive bibliotherapy; The researcher selected two picture books whose central issues are about the common emotional distress of adolescents with cancer, that is, negative emotion coping, and self-worth. The researcher will read the story to the participant and then use the interview guideline to discuss it with him or her one by one. The interview guideline for interactive bibliotherapy is listed according to the mechanism of bibliotherapy, including identification, catharsis, and insight, and additional questions leading a reader to think deeply.
Active Comparator: reading bibliotherapy; All adolescents enrolled in the comparison group will receive two times of reading bibliotherapy with an interval of 7 to 14 days. The participant will read the story alone.	Other: reading bibliotherapy; The researcher selected two picture books whose central issues are about the common emotional distress of adolescents with cancer, that is, negative emotion coping, and self-worth. The participant can take 20 to 25 minutes to read the story. No one can bother the participant during the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
emotional distress	The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule will be used to measure participants' emotional distress. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule is composed of a 20-item questionnaire separated into two subscales, positive and negative affect. Each item is assessed on a 5-point Likert scale, varying from 1 to 5, obtaining total points ranging from 10 to 50 on each subscale. Higher scores suggest higher levels of positive or negative affect.	Changes from Baseline to Post-Intervention and 1-month follow-up.
coping strategies	The Pediatric Cancer Coping Scale (PCCS) will be used to measure participants' coping strategies. The PCCS is composed of a 33-item questionnaire separated into three subscales, including cognitive coping (14 items), problem-oriented coping (9 items), and defensive coping (10 items). The PCCS is also separated into two parts. The first part of the scale is used to measure the usage frequency of each item, and the second part evaluates the efficacy of each strategy. Each item is assessed on a 4-point Likert scale, varying from 0 to 3. The score for each subscale is calculated by adding all corresponding item scores. Higher scores represent the higher usage frequency of strategies or the more effective coping strategies.	Changes from Baseline to Post-Intervention and 1-month follow-up.
resilience	The Haase Adolescent Resilience in Illness Scale will be used to measure participants' resilience. The Haase Adolescent Resilience in Illness Scale is composed of a 13-item questionnaire. Each item is assessed on a 6-point Likert scale, varying from 1 to 6, obtaining total points ranging from 13 to 78, with higher scores representing higher resilience.	Changes from Baseline to Post-Intervention and 1-month follow-up.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Yang Ming University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 30, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 26, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): July 26, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 19, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): August 22, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 21, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 19, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: adolescent; coping; resilience; bibliotherapy; emotional distress
• Other Study ID Numbers: T-24142-54260-19890

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No