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Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between children’s reported symptom burden and their parents’ quality of life, and whether parents’ perceived stress mediates this relationship. Method: this was a cross-sectional quantitative research study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 80 pairs of parents and their children with cancer. Advanced statistical methods were used to analyse the mediating effects of parental stress between children’s symptom burden and parents’ quality of life. Results: The results showed that parental stress was the mediator in the relationship between children’s reported symptom burden and their parents’ quality of life. Conclusions: Symptom burden was prevalent in Chinese children with cancer living in the community. Children’s symptom burden is an important factor in predicting parental stress level, which simultaneously and directly lower parents’ quality of life. The evidence in this study enlarges the knowledge base about the mediating effect of parental stress on the association between the symptom burden of children with cancer and their parents’ quality of life. This evidence is crucial in paving the way for the development of interventions that improve the parental quality of life through stress-reduction programs.

Aim: Frequency and relationship between child comorbid psychopathology and parental stress, quality of life (QoL), anxiety, depression, and social support were examined in parents of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: Parents of 152 children and adolescents with ASD completed the Autism Spectrum Disorder-Comorbid for Children, Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, World Health Organization Quality of Life Abbreviated Version, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: A series of one-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine the relationship between child comorbid psychopathology and parental well-being. A relationship was found between parental QoL, depression and anxiety and child comorbid psychopathology. Results showed a relationship between parental stress and the severity of child conduct, and repetitive behaviors. Conclusion: This study adds to existing literature by demonstrating the relationship between comorbid psychopathology in children and adolescents in ASD and parental well-being. peer-reviewed