The Effects of Stress‑coping Strategies and Life Skills Trainings on the Mental Health and Academic Progress of Adolescent Cancer Patients: A Quasi‑experimental Study

Background: Cancer is a serious illness which can cause significant complicationssuch as mental disorders. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectsof stress‑coping strategies (SCS) and life skills (LS) trainings on mental healthand academic progress among adolescent cancer patients. Methods: Thisquasi‑experimental study was conducted on 120 Iranian adolescent cancer patients.Participants were randomly allocated to a control (n = 60) and an experimentalgroup (n = 60). A demographic questionnaire and the General HealthQuestionnaire were used to collect data on adolescents’ mental health and gradepoint average (GPA) both before and after study intervention. A SCS and anLS training programs were held for the adolescents in the experimental group.However, adolescents in the control group received no training about the strategiesand skills. The Chi‑square, the Fisher’s exact, as well as the independent‑ and thepaired‑sample t‑tests were used for data analysis. Results: In the experimentalgroup, the mean scores of the somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, depression,and social dysfunction subscales of mental health were 8.91 ± 6.17, 10.33 ± 5.43,15.33 ± 7.34, and 16.23 ± 3.61 at baseline and significantly decreased to4.71 ± 2.51, 6.61 ± 2.62, 11.05 ± 2.84, and 12.31 ± 5.45, respectively (P 0.05),while the mean GPA significantly increased after the study (P 0.05). However, inthe control group, neither mental health nor GPA changed significantly (P 0.05).Conclusion: SCS and LS trainings can promote mental health and academicachievement among adolescent cancer patients.