Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Cancer and Their Parents and for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults Affected by Parental Cancer: A Population-Stratified Systematic Review.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
OBJECTIVE: Cancer profoundly affects the entire family system; evidence for acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) remains fragmented within three distinct cohorts: (1) children, adolescents, and young adults (CAYAs) with cancer or cancer survivors, (2) CAYAs impacted by parental cancer, and (3) parents of CAYAs with cancer. This population-stratified systematic review evaluated ACT's acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy. METHODS: Adhering to Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020, 12 databases (including MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase) and gray literature were searched from inception to October 2025. Quantitative studies evaluating ACT-based interventions were included. Two independent reviewers screened studies, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality using JBI tools and the Risk of Bias in N-of-1 Trials (RoBiNT) Scale. Data were synthesized narratively by outcome within population strata following synthesis without meta-analysis (SWiM), with effectiveness appraised for certainty of evidence using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation). RESULTS: Nine studies (N = 573) were included (one RCT, one single case experimental design [SCED], four quasi-experimental trials, and three single-group pilot/feasibility studies). No studies targeted children. For AYA populations (both with cancer or cancer survivors and affected by parental cancer), evidence was of very low certainty; psychological flexibility emerged as a plausible mediator of quality-of-life improvements in a single mixed sample study of distressed AYAs affected by their own or a family member's cancer. Moderate-certainty evidence for parents of CAYAs with cancer showed reductions in distress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (d = 0.61-0.83), and increased psychological flexibility (d = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: ACT shows promise for improving mental health outcomes in parents of CAYAs with cancer. Evidence for both AYAs populations remains limited by methodological heterogeneity, highlighting a need for developmentally tailored, rigorous trials.