Survivors of childhood cancer in South Australia attending a late-effects clinic: a descriptive report of psychological, cognitive, and academic late-effects

Abstract

This study provides a description of psychological late effects among a heterogeneous cohort of pediatric cancer survivors (N = 70) attending the South Australian Late-effects Clinic. Survivors reported more problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist compared to normative data but no differences in Sluggish Cognitive Tempo scores. Forty-six percent of the sample reported school difficulties, and 12% of the sample age older than 15 reported smoking. Late-effects clinics should continue to monitor psychological well-being and health behaviors. Further research is recommended to determine whether sluggish cognitive tempo is a useful concept for the assessment of survivors.