Comparing the Effectiveness of Writing Therapy and Story Therapy on Anxiety and Depression of Children with Cancer

Background: Anxiety and depression are among the factors requiring psychological treatment for children with cancer. The current study aims to compare the effectiveness of writing therapy and story therapy on anxiety and depression of children with cancer.

Methods: The current study was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test stages of writing therapy and story therapy, and a control group. The study's statistical population consisted of 137 children aged 9 to 13 years with various types of cancer at the King Fahad National Center for Children's Cancer and Research (KFNCCC&R) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, In 2021. Simple random sampling was used to select 48 people, who were divided into three groups of 16. The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) was used to measure the anxiety of children with cancer and the Lang and Tisher Children's Depression Scale (CDS) was used to measure depression. The current study used the SPSS software to conduct repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results: The group factor was significant for the variables of anxiety (F = 28.98, P < 0.001) and depression (F = 27.62, P < 0.001). Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed a statistically significant difference between the writing therapy and story therapy groups and the control group regarding anxiety and depression. Writing therapy had a significant difference and a stronger effect than story therapy (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Story therapy and writing therapy were equally successful in lowering anxiety and depression in young patients with cancer. Children with cancer should have access to skilled nursing personnel, psychotherapists, and intervention techniques in addition to necessary and conventional medical therapies.