iCARE Study – Healthy Volunteers Ages 10-17

STUDY BASICS

Are you the parent or grandparent of a child ages 10-17? Are you free of chronic illness, and have not been diagnosed with cancer? You and your child or grandchild may be able to take part in a research study to help better understand how stress from a parent or grandparent's cancer diagnosis affects children. Compensation is provided.

STUDY PURPOSE

Experiencing stress during childhood can lead to physical and mental changes in children. In some cases, childhood stress can contribute to the development of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal thoughts. Researchers do not fully understand why some people who experience childhood stress go on to develop mental illness and others do not. The purpose of this study is to better understand how stress from a parent or grandparent's cancer diagnosis affects a child’s biological, emotional, and behavioral well-being. Researchers will compare children who do and do not have a parent or grandparent diagnosed with cancer, and hope their findings will lead to better ways to prevent and treat mental illness brought on by childhood stress.

COULD THIS STUDY BE RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?

• Ages 10-17
• Do not have a parent or grandparent with a diagnosis of cancer or any other chronic illness
• Have not lost a parent, grandparent, or sibling in the past 2 years
• Have not been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome or Addison’s disease
• Not pregnant

WHAT PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT

Participation involves an initial visit, and two follow up visits at 6 and 18 months. Both parents/grandparents and children will take part in an interview, complete questionnaires, provide hair and blood samples, have blood pressure and heart rate assessed, and have physical measurements. The child will also provide saliva samples. It is important to know that participants who do not have a parent or grandparent with a cancer diagnosis are age-matched to participants who do have a parent or grandparent with a cancer diagnosis. This means that your child may meet all eligibility criteria for the study, but may not be able to participate in the study if they do not match to a child in the cancer diagnosis group.