Maternal Distress Tolerance and the occurrence of internalization and externalization behavioral problems in children with cancer

Introduction: Parents (especially mothers) undergo severe stress and experience psychological distress after the diagnosis of their child's cancer. there are individual differences among mothers in distress tolerance. The main purpose of this study was to determine the role of the mother’s distress tolerance on the internalization and externalization problems in children with cancer. Methods: The study was a descriptive correlational study. 130  mothers who have a child with cancer and admitted to the Pediatric Cancer Hospital (Mahak) participated in this study. They completed two Distress Tolerance Scales (DTS) and Child Behavioral Inventory (CBCL) (a Parenting report version). Results: Among the four dimensions of distress tolerance scale, emotion regulation had the most significant correlation with the internalization and externalization behavioral problems. This connection was more intense about internalizing problems. Simultaneously multiple regression analysis showed that the distress tolerance effected on child's physical complaints more than other factors; however, it could not predict law-breaking behavior in children at a significant level. Conclusions: The level of the mother's distress through parenting style, learning of coping with stress and quality of interaction with the child can influence the internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in children.