ASPO Abstracts

The effects of familial perceptions of substance use among adolescent and young adult cancer survivor substance use: Project FORWARD

Authors: Stal J, King A, Ritt-Olson A, Evans O, Wright J, Matos E, Kim Y, Lau Z, & Milam J.

Category: Culture and Cancer
Conference Year: 2021

Abstract Body:
Family members play a vital role in caring for, influencing, and guiding adolescent and young adults. This is particularly true for young cancer survivors who may rely on their family for greater financial, emotional, and physical support than the general population. This study examined familial perceptions of substance use among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors using descriptive statistics and Grounded Theory. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with survivors were conducted among 19 substance using and 6 abstaining survivors. Substance use included prior thirty-day binge drinking of alcohol, using marijuana, and/or using tobacco (either combustible, vaping or e-cigarette use). Participants (60% male, 44% Hispanic/Latinx, age range of 22 to 38 years [M = 30.0], mean age of diagnosis of 9 years) were diagnosed with a variety of cancer types including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphoma, and melanoma. Survivors' substance use was associated with family history and attitudes towards substance use. A male survivor, diagnosed as a young teenager, reported that his father died of lung cancer after smoking his whole life, which later affected his own substance use, "Once I realized my dad, I stopped occasionally smoking completely”, later reporting that his thoughts and perceptions of tobacco use were shaped by the experiences with his father. Another male survivor, diagnosed as an infant, reported that cancer itself did not impact his substance use, but rather his parents' views impacted his lack of use, indicating "I don't think having cancer as a baby made me choose whether or not to do the substances. I think it's just more of the value that my parents instilled with me as I was growing up”. These statements indicate that familial values and experiences may have strong influences on survivors. Parental influence on survivors may be mediated by poignant life events that may affect the value survivors assign to their parents' beliefs and teachings. Future research should consider the effects of gender, type of cancer, and age of diagnosis on parental influence among young survivors.

Keywords: cancer, substance use, young adults