Characteristics of family resilience in pediatric cancer patients: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: family resilience is the positive adaptation to adversity, involving the change of its dynamics and its functioning, allowing to resolve any stressor that is found during the life of its members. Objective: to know some aspects related to family resilience in the field of pediatric oncology. Method: through a systematic review, one search is performed on the databases Medline, SCOPUS/Sciencedirect, Academic Search complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, CINAHL and E-Journals, to know the latest impact researches about models, variables, instruments and family resilience interventions, obtaining 13 articles. Results: 84.7% of the investigations are of a quantitative type and present an impact factor. Most studies use the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and find that most families of children with cancer are resilient. Two articles present models of family resilience. Conclusion: the family resilience construct is complex and studied from differentperspectives. A model that summarizes all the aspects that influence it, can help the intervention ofthe psychologist with the families of children with cancer.