Clinical trial · Observational
Longitudinal Identity Study of Childhood Cancer Survivors
The Long-term Impact of Pediatric Cancer on Adolescents, Emerging Adults, and Their Family: Identity, Psychosocial Functioning, and Development
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The study investigators plan to conduct a longitudinal questionnaire study in adolescents and emerging adults (14-25 years of age at the start of the study) who survived childhood cancer to chart their identity development and broader social functioning. Additionally, the functioning of these survivors will be related to the functioning of their parents and siblings. The investigators shall focus especially on the current experience and impact of the earlier cancer experience. They will investigate to what extent the experience of a life-threatening disease has an effect on the daily life of survivors and over time and how the survivors develop through the course of adolescence and emerging adulthood on the psychosocial level. The formation of an adult identity is a very challenging task during adolescence and the way to adulthood and the fact that these youth had cancer during their childhood may especially complicate this process of identity formation. Furthermore, both parental and sibling functioning will be taken into account, which will allow us to examine inter-generational mechanisms (thus parental functioning that possibly impacts youth functioning and vice versa) and sibling functioning in these families. To investigate the latter, at each timepoint of the longitudinal study a sibling between 14 and 25 years of age at the start of the study will be included (if there is more than one sibling in a family, ideally the sibling who is closest in age will be the one who participates in the study). Moreover, a community sample that is matched on age and sex with the survivor of pediatric cancer will be assessed. This will allow the investigators to make well-founded comparisons regarding identity development and broader psychosocial functioning.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Cancer | Childhood Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obtaining information from survivors' medical file | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Questionnaire bundle | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- label
- cancer survivor, parents, sibling
- description
- study samples adolescent and young adult survivors of pediatric cancer, their parents, and one sibling; they are assessed using self-report questionnaires, so no intervention takes place
- interventionNames
- Other: Questionnaire bundle
- Other: Obtaining information from survivors' medical file
Primary outcomes (4)
- measure
- Change in Dimensions of Identity Development
- timeFrame
- Assessed and reported at baseline, one year later, two years later, and five years later
- description
- Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS); dimensions: commitment making (range: 5 - 25), Identification with Commitment (range: 5 - 25), Exploration in Breadth (rang: 5 - 25), Exploration in Depth (range: 5 - 25), Ruminative Exploration (range: 5 - 25); for each dimension, a higher score indicates more identification with the dimension
- measure
- Change in Identity from an Eriksonian Perspective
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 14 Years
- Maximum age
- 25 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Survivors of childhood leukemia/lymphoma, solid tumors, and brain tumors, of whom the treatment has ended. * 14-25 years at the start of the study * Treated at the department of pediatric oncology at University Hospital Leuven, Belgium. * Sufficient knowledge of Dutch Exclusion Criteria: * Mental retardation which hinders completion of the questionnaire bundle * Younger than 14 year and older than 25 year * Physically incapable to complete the questionnaire bundle * Insufficient knowledge of Dutch * Contact information is not available
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available