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Psychosoziale Belastungen bei Kindern körperlich kranker Eltern

Perspektiven der seelischen Gesundheitsvorsorge1

Psychosocial stress in children of somatically ill parents. Perspectives of mental health prevention

  • Leitthema: Chronisch kranke Kinder
  • Published:
Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz Aims and scope

Zusammenfassung

Kinder körperlich kranker Eltern gelten als bislang klinisch unterversorgte und zu wenig beforschte Risikogruppe für die Entwicklung seelischer Gesundheitsprobleme. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird einleitend die epidemiologische und klinische Relevanz der Thematik beleuchtet. Anschließend wird auf die familiendynamischen und entwicklungspsychologischen Folgen der elterlichen körperlichen Erkrankung für minderjährige Kinder eingegangen. Es schließt sich eine Übersicht über aktuelle empirische Studien an, in der Ergebnisse aus einer transnationalen europäischen Verbundstudie (COSIP – „Children of Somatically Ill Parents“) besonders berücksichtigt werden. Die wichtigsten Empfehlungen aus bislang publizierten Interventionskonzepten werden zusammengefasst. Abschließend werden Ausblicke für Klinik und Forschung diskutiert.

Abstract

Irrespective of their well-known increased risk for mental health problems, children of somatically ill parents are a clinically underserved as well as under-researched group. In this article, the authors introduce the epidemiologic and clinical relevance of this topic and present a theoretical framework for understanding the sequelae of a serious parental illness on minor-age children, based on family dynamics and developmental concepts. This is followed by a comprehensive review of current empirical studies in this field, with a special emphasis on results from a transnational European collaborative study (COSIP = Children of Somatically Ill Parents), which was coordinated by the last author. The most important recommendations from intervention concepts published to date are summarized. Some outlooks for clinical practice as well as future research are presented.

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Correspondence to Georg Romer.

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1 Gekürzte und überarbeitete Version eines jüngst in der Zeitschrift „Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie“ erschienenen ausführlicheren Übersichtsartikels des Letztautors [1].

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Möller, B., Stegemann, T. & Romer, G. Psychosoziale Belastungen bei Kindern körperlich kranker Eltern. Bundesgesundheitsbl. 51, 657–663 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-008-0542-5

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