Childhood cancer is one of the leading causes of death among children and has profound psychological effects on both the children and their parents. Studies consistently show elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression in both groups. Despite growing recognition of these mental health challenges, the underlying cognitive mechanisms that contribute to emotional distress in this population remain underexplored. This study focuses on cognitive biases—specifically biased attention and memory for threat-related information—as potential predictors of emotional disorders. According to leading theories of emotional disorders, such biases could maintain and exacerbate psychological difficulties. Our goal is to identify how these biases operate in children with cancer and their parents, and whether they continue to affect emotional well-being even after remission. To achieve this, we assessed three groups: children undergoing active cancer treatment, children in remission, and healthy controls, along with their respective parents. Data collection was conducted at the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical Center. Participants completed cognitive tasks measuring attentional bias (Stroop task), recognition memory, and working memory (N-back). In addition, both children and parents underwent semi-structured clinical interviews and filled out standardized questionnaires assessing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Initial findings indicate that children in treatment or remission showed strong cancer-related attentional and memory biases, which were linked to psychopathology. While healthy peers showed associations between negative-related biases and psychopathology. By comparing cognitive bias patterns, we aim to uncover risk factors that could guide interventions to reduce distress and support families affected by childhood cancer.

Supervisor: Prof. Nilly Mor and Dr. Shiri Ben-David