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Parent–adolescent relationship in youths with a chronic condition
Author(s) -
Christin A.,
Akre C.,
Berchtold A.,
Suris J. C.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1111/cch.12266
Subject(s) - psychosocial , psychology , clinical psychology , erikson's stages of psychosocial development , adolescent health , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry , nursing
Summary Background Suffering from a chronic disease or disability (CDD) during adolescence can be a burden for both the adolescents and their parents. The aim of the present study is to assess how living with a CDD during adolescence, the quality of parent–adolescent relationship (PAR) and the adolescent's psychosocial development interact with each other. Methods Using the Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Survey on Health 2002 (SMASH02) database, we compared adolescents aged 16–20 years with a CDD ( n = 760) with their healthy peers ( n = 6493) on sociodemographics, adolescents' general and psychosocial health, interparental relationship and PAR. Results Bivariate analyses showed that adolescents with a CDD had a poorer psychosocial health and a more difficult relationship with their parents. The log‐linear model indirectly linked CDD and poor PAR through four variables: two of the adolescents' psychosocial health variables (suicide attempt and sensation seeking), the need for help regarding difficulties with parents and a highly educated mother that acted as a protective factor, allowing for a better parent–adolescent with a CDD relationship. Conclusion It is essential for health professionals taking care of adolescents with a CDD to distinguish between issues in relation with the CDD from other psychosocial difficulties, in order to help these adolescents and their parents deal with them appropriately and thus maintain a healthy PAR.