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Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with a chronic medical condition (CMC) attending college must learn to manage their own healthcare (i.e., transition readiness). Maturity has been linked to positive outcomes in AYAs. Research has established a positive relationship between transition readiness and quality of life. The current study aimed to examine a model of perceived maturityàtransition readinessàmental and physical quality of life. AYA (N = 153) with a CMC completed self-report questionnaires. The perceived maturity→transition readiness→mental quality of life indirect path was significant (ab = 1.96, 95% CI = 0.53 to 3.62). The perceived maturity→transition readiness→physical quality of life direct and indirect paths were not significant. Results showed that maturity and transition readiness are positively associated. Transition readiness may be one mechanism by which maturity results in enhanced quality of life. Findings highlight the value of enhancing strengths such as maturity to promote AYA independence/autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric cancer places both parents and children at risk for psychosocial difficulties, including a specific risk for diminished quality of life. Previous research has identified relationships between parent and child psychosocial adjustment outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety), yet the relationships between parent adjustment and child quality of life have yet to be comprehensively evaluated via meta-analysis. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using EBSCO, with PsychINFO, MEDLINE, Academic Search Premiere, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria. Fourteen correlations from 1646 parents of children with cancer were evaluated, resulting in a medium-magnitude correlation between parent psychosocial adjustment and child quality of life (r = 0.23, p <.001). Additional analyses evaluating the relationship between parent psychosocial adjustment and child social/emotional quality of life resulted in a medium-magnitude correlation (r = 0.24, p <.001). A significant relationship exists between parent psychosocial adjustment and child quality of life. However, this relationship appears slightly less strong than those found in meta-analyses evaluating other child psychosocial adjustment outcomes. Parent distress is an important factor to evaluate in the context of pediatric cancer, as it appears to have implications for child quality of life, in addition to other child psychosocial adjustment outcomes. • In pediatric cancer, parents experiencing more psychosocial difficulties tend to have children who endorse poorer quality of life. • Family functioning is an important factor to understand when working with children with cancer. • More research is needed to understand the ways in which parent functioning interacts with child quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic medical conditions are at risk for reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Recent research on AYAs without chronic medical conditions found that greater health care management skills were related to higher HRQoL. In addition, grit, an intrapersonal strength, has been linked to greater health care management skills and HRQoL. The current study extended these findings to AYAs with a chronic medical condition. Three hundred and seventy-five undergraduates with a chronic medical condition completed questionnaires, including the short Grit Scale, Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, and RAND 36-Item Short Form Survey. Path analysis revealed a significant direct effect of grit on health care management skills and on both mental and physical HRQoL. Further, health care management skills had a significant indirect effect on the grit → mental HRQoL association, but not on the grit → physical HRQoL association. Higher levels of grit were linked to better health care management skills and better mental and physical HRQoL. Further, grit and mental HRQoL were indirectly linked through health care management skills, suggesting the utility of these skills in improving mental HRQoL. Given the observed benefits of higher grit and health care management skills on emotional HRQoL, and the potential impact of health care management skills on future physical HRQoL, interventions targeting the enhancement of grit and health care management skills may be beneficial in improving the efficacy of transition readiness interventions. • Grit, an intrapersonal strength, had a significant direct effect on mental and physical health-related quality of life. • Grit demonstrated a significant direct effect on health care management skills. • Grit had a significant indirect effect on mental health-related quality of life through health care management skills. • Health care management skills partially account for the association between grit and mental health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]