After a traumatic medical event, such as surgery or hospitalization, a child may develop a phobia of medical care, sometimes preventing future medical adherence and impairing recovery. This study examined the correlation of Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS) on the development of Medical Phobia (MP) and subsequent treatment adherence. We enrolled 152 parents of children aged 1–6 hospitalized in a surgical ward. During hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires that identified post-traumatic stress symptoms. Four months post hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires on post-traumatic stress, medical phobia, psychosocial variables and medical adherence. We found a positive correlation between PMTS and MP and low adherence to medical treatment. In addition, MP mediated the relationship between PMTS severity and adherence, indicating that PMTS severity is associated with stronger medical phobia, and lower pediatric adherence to medical treatment. Our findings suggest that medical phobia serves as an essential component of PMTS. It is important to add medical phobia to medical stress syndrome definition. In addition, as MP and PMTS are involved in the rehabilitation and recovery process and subsequent success, it is an important aspect of treatment adherence.

In recent years, many studies have attempted to find the main predictors of the development of post-traumatic symptoms in children following medical procedures. Recent studies found a link between parental beliefs and children’s post-traumatic symptoms in various medical contexts such as life-threatening illness, pain, and hospitalization. This study aims to examine the relationship between parental beleifs and post-traumatic symptoms in children and parents after surgical interventions of the children. The study was conducted among 149 children who underwent surgery and their parents. The children and parents were examined at 2 time points- during hospitalization, and 4 months after the hospitalization. Questionnaires were administered measuring parental beleifs pertaining to parental distress, and post-traumatic symptoms among children. results show a correlation between the factors. In addition, it was found that the parents’ distress is a mediating relationship between the parents’ perceptions and the child’s level of distress. It has been found that there is a link between some of the parental beleifs and parental stress symptoms and post-traumatic symptoms in the children. Parental beliefs that were found to influence these variables were related to parental beliefs regarding children’s suffering and pain during surgery. In addition, children of parents with higher levels of religious and spiritual beliefs were found to have fewer post-traumatic symptoms. This study sheds light on parental beliefs that may have the power to influence parental stress levels and children’s post-traumatic symptoms after surgery.

Background/Objectives: Medical procedures can be a traumatic event for both children and their parents. Children who have experienced maltreatment or early traumatic experiences are at a higher risk for various emotional, behavioral, and health issues, including declining mental health. This may include experiencing heightened distress following medical procedures. The goal of this paper is to investigate the risk of distress symptoms following medical procedures for children with a history of child maltreatment vs. controls. Methods: A prospective study of 219 parents and children hospitalized in a pediatric surgical ward was conducted, with participants divided into study and control groups based on their reports of early traumatic experiences. Questionnaires measuring psychological distress were administered before the medical procedure and 3–5 months after discharge. Results: Children from the study group displayed significantly more distress symptoms before and after the procedure, with a substantial post-procedure increase. Parents of children who endured prior trauma and child maltreatment also exhibited elevated pre-procedure distress. Prior trauma and child maltreatment independently contributed to heightened medical distress. Post-procedure child distress was influenced by the early traumatic events and also by family support, socioeconomic status, and parental procedure-related post-traumatic stress symptoms. Conclusions: Children with a history of child maltreatment and trauma show an increased chance of psychological distress following medical procedures. Medical teams should be aware of this heightened risk and provide appropriate support.

Stress impacts prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity and modulates working memory performance. In a recent study, stimulating the dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) interacted with social stress in modulating participants’ working memory. More specifically, stress disrupted the enhancing effects of dlPFC tDCS on working memory performance. The current study aimed to further explore these initial findings by randomizing healthy females to four experimental conditions (N = 130); stimulation (right dlPFC tDCS vs. sham) and stress manipulation (social stress vs. control). Participants performed cognitive tasks (i.e., visual working memory task and a visual declarative memory task) at baseline and post-stimulation. They also completed self-report measures of stress and anxiety. A significant stimulation × stress interaction was evident in the declarative memory (One-Card Learning, OCL) task, while working memory performance was unaffected. Though tDCS stimulation and stress did not interact to affect working memory, further research is warranted as these initial findings suggest that immediate visual-memory learning may be affected by these factors. The limited number of earlier studies, as well as the variability in their designs, provides additional impetus for studying the interactive effects of stress and tDCS on human visual learning.

Background/Objectives: Parenting a child with a chronic illness such as cancer presents distinct psychological challenges that often disrupt normative parenting patterns. Parents frequently struggle to maintain boundaries in response to their child’s heightened emotional needs, leading to overprotective or permissive behaviors. This study revisits Winnicott’s theory of the “good enough parent” and explores its application in the context of pediatric oncology. We aim to examine how a psychodynamic framework can be integrated with evidence-based practices to support parental functioning and promote child resilience during cancer treatment. Methods: This conceptual paper employs a qualitative, theory-driven case study approach. We analyze the case of a 6.5-year-old girl diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), focusing on the evolving dynamics between the child’s regressive behaviors and the parents’ emotional responses. Winnicott’s developmental model is expanded to conceptualize parenting as a continuous balance between responsiveness and structure. Clinical dialogues illustrate the therapeutic process of guiding parents toward a more adaptive stance. Results: The analysis highlights how permissive parenting, driven by parental guilt and fear, may initially reduce child distress, but can inadvertently reinforce emotional dysregulation and dependency. The application of a dialectical interpretation of Winnicott’s theory allowed for a therapeutic shift, supporting parents in setting empathic yet firm boundaries. Conclusions: A balanced, dialectical approach to parenting—one that integrates emotional attunement with appropriate demands—can enhance a child’s psychological resilience during cancer treatment. Incorporating psychodynamic insights into clinical practice can help professionals guide families toward more adaptive, developmentally supportive caregiving strategies.