Contribution of Time Since Diagnosis in Anticipatory Grief of Mothers of Children Diagnosed With Cancer: A Descriptive Study in Iran

Objective: Anticipatory grief is one of the most prominent psychological phenomena in mothers of children diagnosed with cancer. The aim of present study was to compare anticipatory grief of mothers of children diagnosed with cancer within the previous 1 month and those whose children were diagnosed 6-12 months earlier.  Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 70 mothers living in Mashhad; the children of 35 mothers were diagnosed with cancer within the previous 1 month, and the children of 35 mothers were diagnosed with cancer 6 to 12 months earlier. The instrument was Marwit and Meuser Caregiver Inventory: Childhood Cancer. For data analysis in addition to the procedures of descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), inferential statistics (MANOVA) has been used.  Results: The results of MANOVA revealed that there is a significant difference between the anticipatory grief of mothers of children diagnosed with cancer within the previous 1 month and those diagnosed 6-12 months earlier.  Conclusion: Mothers of children recently diagnosed with cancer need to receive adequate support interventions.