Introduction: Diagnosis of pediatric cancer, process of treatment and hospitalization can affect the entire family and is one of the most stressful experiences of parents. In this research, the aim was to compare marriage conflict and perception of parents’ conflict in children with and without cancer.

Methods: The population of children with cancer included those that had referred to Mahak hospital and for normal children the population was all 9- to 12-year-old students of Tehran that were selected from 3 schools in north, center and south of Tehran. Sampling for both groups was done through available sampling. Mothers completed the Marital Conflict Scale and Children completed the Child’s Perception of Parental Conflict Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).

Results: The results of MANOVA showed that parent of child with cancer obtained higher scores in emotional reaction, showed reduced sexual relationship, increased relationship with their own family and support from their healthy children. However, there was no difference between the two groups regarding financial matters and efficient inter-personal relationships. Also, children with cancer showed higher score in the subscale of child’s perception of conflict, and showed a significant different in cognitive coping with conflict.

Conclusions: The results showed that cancer in children could have a negative influence on some aspects of marital relations and other aspects of family life, such as relationships with others. Also, children with cancer may experience a feeling of guilt because of their psychological condition, this is because they interpret parent’s conflict in a different way, while their coping with difficult situations are somewhat different from normal children.