How the support of others helped me become who I Am: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of narrative interviews with young adults treated for childhood leukemia.

OBJECTIVES

Young adults treated for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) face unique developmental challenges. Social support is considered key to long-term adjustment, but we do not know how this occurs. Integrating the cancer experience into one's identity may promote positive adjustment. Our objective was to uncover the role of perceived social support in the integration of the cancer experience into the identity of long-term cALL survivors.

METHODS AND MEASURES: Young adult survivors of cALL (n = 12, 9 female, age = 21.58 ± 3.12 years) were recruited from the long-term cancer follow-up clinic of a North American paediatric cancer care centre. Narrative interviews (McAdams, 2007) were conducted and analysed within an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework (Smith et al., 2022).

RESULTS

Four Group Experiential Themes were produced: 1) Childhood losses; 2) Feeling different and seeking normality through others' approval; 3) Key features of support contributing to participants' identity formation; and 4) The role of loved ones' support in post-cancer growth.

CONCLUSION

The mechanisms identified could serve as hypotheses for future studies. If replicated, they could be translated into recommendations for supporting caregivers or significant others early in the cancer trajectory regarding survivors' long-term adjustment.