Enhancing psychosocial outcomes for young adult childhood CNS cancer survivors: Importance of addressing vocational identity and community integration

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between vocational identity, community integration, positive and negative affect, and satisfaction with life in a group of young adult central nervous system (CNS) cancer survivors. Participants in this study included 45 young adult CNS cancer survivors who ranged in age from 18 to 30 years (mean=22, SD=3.62), with a mean age at diagnosis of 8.8 years. Four standardized instruments were used to assess the individual's affect, satisfaction with life, vocational identity, and self-perceived level of community integration. Pearson correlation analyses were carried out to examine the relationships between the satisfaction with life and positive and negative affect, vocational identify, and community integration. A hierarchical linear regression was then performed to determine how well these variables predict satisfaction with life among CNS cancer survivors. Significant positive correlations were found between life satisfaction and positive affect (r=0.423, P<0.01), as well as life satisfaction and community integration (r=-505, P<0.001). A positive correlation between life satisfaction and vocational identity was only marginally significant (r=0.312, P<0.05). Regression results indicate that the model explained 29% of the variance with community integration making a unique contribution. The largest contribution of this study is that the findings provide initial evidence that addressing vocational identity and community integration may be important constructs in improving young adult CNS survivors' overall levels of satisfaction with life. These constructs have not been typically addressed in psychosocial cancer treatment programs.