Post-traumatic growth in parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors compared to the general population: A report from the Swiss childhood cancer survivor study-Parents.

OBJECTIVE Post-traumatic growth (PTG) describes perceived positive changes following a traumatic event. We describe (i) PTG in parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors (CCS-parents) compared to parents of similar-aged children of the general population (comparison-parents), (ii) normative data for the Swiss population, and (iii) psychological, socio-economic, and event-related characteristics associated with PTG. METHODS CCS-parents (aged ≤16 years at diagnosis, ≥20 years old at study, registered in the Childhood Cancer Registry Switzerland (ChCR), and the Swiss population responded to a paper-based survey, including the PTG-Inventory (total score 0-105). We carried out (i) t-tests, (ii) descriptive statistics, and (iii) multilevel regression models with survivor/household as the cluster variable. RESULTS In total, 746 CCS-parents (41.7% fathers, response-rate = 42.3%) of 494 survivors (median time since diagnosis 24 (7-40) years), 411 comparison-parents (42.8% fathers, 312 households), and 1069 individuals of the Swiss population (40.7% male, response-rate = 20.1%) participated. Mean [M] total PTG was in CCS-parents M = 52.3 versus comparison-parents M = 50.4, p = 0.078; and in the Swiss population M = 44.5). CCS-parents showed higher 'relating-to-others' (18.4 vs. 17.3, p = 0.010), 'spiritual-change' (3.3 vs. 3.0, p = 0.038) and 'appreciation-of-life' (9.3 vs. 8.4, p = 0.027) than comparison-parents, but not in 'new-possibilities' and 'personal-strength'. Female gender, older age, higher post-traumatic stress, and higher resilience were positively associated with PTG. Individuals reporting events not typically classified as traumatic also reported growth. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight that mothers and fathers can experience heightened growth many years after their child's illness. Being able to sensitively foreshadow the potential for new-possibilities and personal development may help support parents in developing a sense of hope

Vegetation History of the Upper Leventina Valley from Neolithic to Roman Times, Recorded by Pollen, Spores, Plant Macrofossils, and Charcoal

We use pollen, spores plant macrofossils, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon dates to reconstruct vegetation changes in the upper Leventina valley (Ticino, Swiss Alps) since the beginning of the Neolithic. Two mires and two lakes were investigated in the framework of several palaeoecological projects interrelated with archaeological investigations at the Airolo-Madrano (Ticino) archaeological site. Our records suggest that first transient openings of vegetation started during the Early Neolithic around 5200 cal BC caused by early agricultural activities. With increasing human disturbance Picea abies (spruce) gradually almost completely replaced Abies alba (silver fir) in the montane belt and Pinus cembra (stone pine) in the subalpine belt. A few centuries after the beginning of the Bronze Age (ca. 2000 cal BC) forest fires increased moderately in the upper Leventina valley, and in the montane and subalpine belts Alnus viridis (green alder) expanded, pointing to a further moderate increase of land use. Besides grazing, cereals were cultivated at favourable sites from the lowlands to the subalpine belt. Only during and after the Roman period the landscape became more open, likely as a consequence of the use of efficient cultivation tools (e.g. scythes) and approaches (e.g. hay making). Today's landscape including the remaining forests is thus the result of millennium-long human activities aiming at forming and keeping an environment that is suitable for land use