Moving towards a better understanding of social competence in pediatric brain tumour survivors post-pandemic

Children who survive a brain tumour often face long-term challenges that can affect their daily lives and their well-being. One of the most common difficulties is with their social lives. Many children and adolescents who had brain tumours feel more isolated than their peers and may struggle to build and keep close friendships. Yet, we still do not fully understand which social skills are hardest for them, or why these difficulties happen. Problems with how children understand social cues, manage their emotions, or control their attention and their behaviours may all play a role. The COVID-19 pandemic has also changed the way youth connect with others, which raises important questions about whether these changes may have affected their social development. As such, this project has the goal to 1) compare the social skills of children and adolescents who had brain tumours with their peers who did not, to find which skills are most challenging, 2) study how their ability to process social cues, regulate emotions and use thinking skills influence their social skills six to twelve months later, 3) explore how they themselves describe their friendships and social lives in the post-pandemic context, and 4) gather parents' perspective on their main concerns about their children's social functioning post-pandemic. To do this, children and adolescents who participated in the study completed online activities and an in-person meeting six to twelve months later. Parents completed and will complete brief questionnaires. The knowledge gained from this project will help identify what social challenges are most pressing, which will help create programs to better support their social lives.