Commentary: Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer
Leonel Jaramillo Villanueva
Department of Mental Health, High Specialty Medical Unit, XXI Century National Medical Center Pediatric Hospital. Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), Mexico City, Mexico
In this commentary, I synthesize and clinically contextualize findings from our recent study on coping interdependence in adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyads, “Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer”1. The study demonstrated that coping in adolescent patients with cancer and their primary caregivers operates as an interdependent and compensatory emotional system rather than as two parallel individual processes. This perspective challenges traditional clinical assumptions and supports a paradigm shift toward dyad-centered care. Here, I offer a critical synthesis of the study, discuss its implications for psycho-oncology practice, and outline concrete directions for developing brief, culturally sensitive interventions focused on the adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyadic relationship.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1361 View / Download PdfThe Association Between Music Engagement and Self-Reported Mental Health
Mark V. Prizmic
Harvard Extension School, Harvard University, Anaheim, California, USA
Music is widely used for mood regulation, stress relief, and social connection, but individuals differ in how music relates to their mental well-being. Using the public Music & Mental Health (MxMH) survey dataset (N = 736) hosted on Kaggle, this paper examines whether everyday music listening and perceived effects of music are associated with self-reported symptoms of depression and related concerns. Respondents reported average daily music listening (hours/day), several music-engagement characteristics, and symptom ratings for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on 0–10 scales.
Two research questions guided the analysis: (1) Is time spent listening to music associated with higher or lower depression scores? and (2) Do depression scores differ across participants who report that music improves, worsens, or does not affect their mental health? Statistical analyses included Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression, as well as nonparametric group comparisons (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann– Whitney U tests). Listening time showed a small positive association with depression (r = 0.111, p = 0.003).
In a regression model adjusting for age and select listening-context variables, hours/day remained a modest predictor of depression (b = 0.089, p = 0.022), while age was negatively associated with depression (b = -0.028, p = 0.003). Depression scores differed across perceived music-effect groups (Kruskal–Wallis H = 13.40, p = 0.001), with the “worsen” group reporting higher depression than both the “improve” and “no effect” groups. Limitations include self-report measurement, cross-sectional design, and potential selection bias. Although several associations reached statistical significance, effect sizes were small, underscoring the need for cautious interpretation.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1366 View / Download PdfPrevalence of anxiety and associated psychological factors in French-Canadian adolescents before, during and later in the COVID-19 pandemic
Alexandra Pinsonneault1, Danyka Therriault2*, Jonathan Smith3, Patrick Gosselin1, Audrey Dupuis4, Eliane Saint-Pierre Mousset5, Mathieu Roy6, Pascale Morin7, Julie Lane5
1Department of Psychology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
2Department of Psychoeducation, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
3Department of Preschool and Elementary Education, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
4Department of Secondary Education and Human Resources, University of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
5Department of School and Social Adaptation Studies, Faculty of Education, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
6Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
7Department of Kinanthropology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Mental health professionals and researchers worldwide are concerned about the impact of the pandemic on mental health, particularly that of adolescents who have been identified as a vulnerable subpopulation. This study was therefore interested in comparing the prevalence of anxiety and associated psychological factors in French-Canadian adolescents before the pandemic, in its early phase and late in the pandemic. Three independent cohorts were recruited at three time points, one before the pandemic (2019), one early in the pandemic (2020) and one later in the pandemic (2022). The full sample included 3963 French-Canadian adolescents (Mage = 12.55 years, 50.6% girls). They were invited to complete questionnaires targeting their anxiety and associated psychological factors (depressive symptoms, intolerance to uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, negative attitudes when faced with problems, self-esteem, self-efficacy, impact of anxiety on academic, social, and family activities). Their answers were analysed with multivariate analysis of variance. Results showed that several types of anxiety (panic symptoms, separation anxiety, social anxiety) did not differ between pre-pandemic and early-pandemic cohorts, but were lower in the late-pandemic cohort, whereas generalized anxiety was higher in the early-pandemic cohort and lower in the late-pandemic cohort. Moreover, self-esteem, self-efficacy and negative attitude towards problems were worse in the late-pandemic cohort compared with pre-pandemic and early-pandemic cohorts. Depressive symptoms were higher in the early-pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic and late-pandemic cohorts. Our study suggests that overall, the pandemic did not have longer-term negative effects on anxiety symptomology, highlighting the importance of documenting the evolution of anxiety throughout the pandemic.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1360 View / Download Pdf