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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on December 16, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl048
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Parent–Adolescent Communication and Psychological Symptoms among Adolescents with Chronically Ill Parents

Christopher D. Houck, PhD1, James R. Rodrigue, PhD2 and Debra Lobato, PhD1

1Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center/Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School and 2Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christopher Houck, PhD, Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, One Hoppin Street, Suite 204, Providence, RI 02903, USA. E-mail: chouck{at}lifespan.org


  Abstract

Objective To examine the psychological adjustment of adolescents living with a chronically ill parent and the relationship between psychological symptoms and communication with both their healthy and ill parents. Method Adolescents, healthy parents, and ill parents from 38 families completed questionnaires regarding adolescent psychological symptoms, including posttraumatic stress symptoms, and parent–adolescent communication. Results Adolescent anxiety, depression, and behavior problems were within the subclinical ranges while approximately one-third of adolescents reported clinical levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Openness, but not problems, in communication between adolescents and their parents varied as a function of the parent's health status (healthy or ill) and parent sex. Adolescents reported poorer communication with healthy mothers; however only the quality of communication with healthy parents was related to adolescent psychological symptoms. Conclusions Many adolescents with severely ill parents appear to experience clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms, therefore assessment for these symptoms in this population is important. Communication with a healthy parent may serve significant and unique functions for adolescents with ill parents, making communication between adolescents and their healthy parent a potentially useful target for clinical intervention.

Key words: adolescents; parent illness; parent–adolescent communication; posttraumatic stress..


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