Abstract
What happens to children when their mother or father is seriously ill? What is the impact of parental illness on their psychological and behavioral adjustment? Are children faced with certain types of stressors as a result of specific parental illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, or cancer? And how do children cope with the stress of having an ill parent? Are some coping responses associated with better psychological adjustment and others related to poorer adaptation? These questions form the basis for a growing interest in the consequences of parental physical illness for the psychological well-being of children (e.g., Compas et al., 1994; Lewis, Hammond, & Woods, 1993).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adrian, C., & Hammen, C. (1993). Stress exposure and stress generation in children of depressed mothers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,61, 354–359.
Anderson, C. A., & Hammen, C. L. (1993). Psychosocial outcomes of children of unipolar depressed, bipolar, medically ill, and normal women: A longitudinal study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 448–454.
Berman, H., Cragg, C. E., & Kuenzig, L. (1988). Having a parent die of cancer: Adolescents’ reactions. Oncology Nursing Forum, 15, 159–163.
Biegel, D. E., Sales, E., & Schulz, R. (1991). Family caregiving in chronic illness. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Bolton, D. A. (1995). Social support in families: Examining the provision and receipt of social support in families when a parent has cancer. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Vermont.
Carter, B., & McGoldrick, M. (1988). The changing family life-cycle: A framework for family therapy. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Cassileth, B. R., Lusk, E. J., Strouse, T. B., Miller, D. S., Brown, L. L., & Cross, P. A. (1984). A psychological analysis of cancer patients and their next-of-kin. Cancer, 55, 72–76.
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin,98, 310–357.
Compas, B. E., Connor, J., Osowiecki, D., & Welch, A. (in press). Effortful and involuntary responses to stress: Implications for coping with chronic stress. In B. H. Gottlieb (Ed.), Coping with chronic stress. New York: Plenum Press.
Compas, B. E., Malcarne, V. L., & Banez, G. A. (1992). Coping with psychosocial stress: A developmental perspective. In B. Carpenter (Ed.), Personal coping: Theory, research, and application (pp. 47–64). New York: Praeger.
Compas, B. E., Malcarne, V., & Fondacaro, K. (1988). Coping with stress in older children and young adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 405–411.
Compas, B. E., & Wagner, B. M. (1991). Psychosocial stress during adolescence: Intrapersonal and interpersonal processes. In S. Gore & M. Colton (Eds.), Adolescence, stress, and coping (pp. 67–85). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Compas, B. E., Worsham, N., Epping-Jordan, J. E., Howell, D. C., Grant, K. E., Mireault, G., & Malcarne, V. (1994). When mom or dad has cancer: Markers of psychological distress in cancer patients, spouses, and children. Health Psychology, 13, 507–515.
Compas, B. E., Worsham, N. L., & Ey, S. (1992). Conceptual and developmental issues in children’s coping with stress. In A. LaGreca, L. Siegel, J. Wallander, & C. E. Walker (Eds.), Advances in pediatric psychology: Stress and coping with pediatric conditions (pp. 7–24). New York: Guilford Press.
Compas, B. E., Worsham, N., Ey, S., & Howell, D. C. (1996). When mom or dad has cancer: II. Coping, cognitive appraisals, and psychological distress in children of cancer patients. Health Psychology, 15, 167–175.
Craft, M. J. (1986). Validation of responses reported by school-aged siblings of hospitalized children. Children’s Health Care, 15, 6–13.
Epping-Jordan, J. E., Compas, B. E., & Howell, D. C. (1994). Predictors of cancer progression in young adult men and women: Avoidance, intrusive thoughts, and psychological symptoms. Health Psychology, 13, 539–547.
Ey, S., Compas, B. E., Epping-Jordan, J. E., & Worsham, N. (1997). Stress responses and psychological adjustment in cancer patients and their spouses. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Forsythe, C. J., & Compas, B. E. (1987). Interaction of cognitive appraisals of stressful events and coping: Testing the goodness of fit hypothesis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 473–485.
Grandstaff, N. W. (1976). The impact of breast cancer on the family. In J. M. Vaeth (Ed.), Frontiers of radiation therapy and oncology (Vol. 11, pp. 146–156). Basel, Switzerland: Karger.
Grant, K. E., & Compas, B. E. (1995). Stress and anxious-depressed symptoms of anxiety/depression among adolescents: Searching for mechanisms of risk. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 1015–1021.
Greening, K. (1992). The “Bear Essentials” program: Helping young children and their families cope when a parent has cancer. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 10, 47–61.
Hammen, C., Adrian, C., Gordon, D., Burge, D., Jaenicke, C., & Hiroto, D. (1987). Children of depressed mothers: Maternal strain and symptom predictors of dysfunction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 190–198.
Hammen, C., Burge, D., & Adrian, C. (1991). Timing of mother and child depression in a longitudinal study of children at risk. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,59, 341–345.
Hammen, C., Burge, D., Burney, E., & Adrian, C. (1990). Longitudinal study of diagnoses in children of women with unipolar and bipolar affective disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 1112–1117.
Hammen, C., Gordon, D., Burge, D., Adrian, C., Jaenicke, C., & Hiroto, D. (1987). Maternal affective disorders, illness, and stress: Risk for children’s psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 736–741.
Hirsch, B. J., Moos, R. H., & Reischl, T. M. (1985). Psychosocial adjustment of adolescent children of a depressed, arthritic, or normal parent. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 154–164.
Horowitz, M. J., Wilner, N., & Alvarez, W. (1979). Impact of Event Scale: A measure of subjective stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,41, 209–218.
Issel, L. M., Ersek, M., & Lewis, F. M. (1990). How children cope with mother’s breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 17, 5–12.
Klein, D. N., Clark, D. C., Dansky, L., & Margolis, E. T. (1988). Dysthymia in the offspring of parents with primary unipolar affective disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,97, 265–274.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Lee, C. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (1989a). Clinical status and emotional adjustment of children of depressed mothers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 478–483.
Lee, C. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (1989b). Maternal depression and child adjustment: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 78–85.
Lee, C. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (1991). Adjustment of children of depressed mothers: A 10-month followup. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 473–477.
Levanthal, H., Levanthal, E. A., & Nguyen, T. V. (1985). Reactions of families to illness: Theoretical models and perspectives. In D. C. Turk & R. D. Kerns (Eds.), Health, illness, and families: A lifespan perspective (pp. 108–145). New York: Wiley.
Lewandowski, L. A. (1992). Needs of children during the critical illness of a parent or sibling. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 4, 573–585.
Lewis, F. M. (1990). Strengthening family supports. Cancer, 65, 752–759.
Lewis, F. M., Ellison, E. S., & Woods, N. F. (1985). The impact of breast cancer on the family. Seminars in Oncology Nursing,1, 206–213.
Lewis, F. M., Hammond, M. A., & Woods, N. F. (1993). The family’s functioning with newly diagnosed breast cancer in the mother: The development of an explanatory model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 351–370.
Lewis, F. M., Woods, N. G., Hough, E. E., & Bensley, L. S. (1989). The family’s functioning with chronic illness in the mother: The spouse’s perspective. Social Science and Medicine, 29, 1261–1269.
Malcarne, V. L., Compas, B. E., Epping-Jordan, J. E., & Howell, D. C. (1995). Cognitive factors in adjustment to cancer: Attributions of self-blame and perceptions of control. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 401–417.
Moguilner, M. E., Bauman, A., & De-Nour, A. K. (1988). The adjustment of children and parents to chronic hemodialysis. Psychosomatics, 29, 289–294.
National Center for Health Statistics. (1993). Advance data from vital and health statistics: Numbers 111–120. (National Center for Health Statistics Vital Health Stat 16(12)). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Nicholson, A. C., Titler, M., Montgomery, L. A., Kleiber, C., Craft, M. J., Halm, M., Buckwalter, K., & Johnson, S. (1993). Effects of child visitation in adult critical care units: A pilot study. Heart and Lung, 22, 36–45.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). Sex differences in depression. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Northouse, L. L. (1995). The impact of cancer in women on the family. Cancer Practice, 3, 134–142.
Osowiecki, D., & Compas, B. E. (1997). Coping and control beliefs in adjustment to cancer. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. (1978). What I Think and Feel: A revised measure of children’s manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,6, 271–280.
Rickard, K. (1988). The occurrence of maladaptive health-related behaviors and teacher-rated conduct problems in children of chronic low back pain patients. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 11, 107–116.
Rutter, M. (1966). Children of sick parents: An environmental and psychiatric study. London: Oxford University Press.
Siegel, K., Karus, D., & Raveis, V. H. (1996). Adjustment of children facing the death of a parent due to cancer. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 442–450.
Siegel, K., Mesagno, F. P., Karus, D., Christ, G., Banks, K., & Moynihan, R. (1992). Psychosocial adjustment of children with a terminally ill parent. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,31, 327–333.
Stetz, K., Lewis, F. M., & Primomo, J. (1986). Family coping strategies and chronic illness in the mother. Family Relations, 35, 515–522.
Turk, D. C., & Kerns, R. D. (1985). The family in health and illness. In D. C. Turk & R. D. Kerns (Eds.), Health, illness, and families: A life-span perspective (pp. 1–22). New York: Wiley.
US Bureau of the Census. (1993). Statistical abstract of the United States: 1993 (113th ed.). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Walsh-Burke, K. (1992). Family communication and coping with cancer: Impact of the We Can Weekend. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 10, 63–81.
Welch, A. S., Wadsworth, M. E., & Compas, B. E. (1996). Adjustment of children and adolescents to parental cancer. Cancer, 77, 1409–1418.
Wellisch, D. K., Gritz, E. R., Schain, W., Wang, H.-J., & Siau, J. (1991). Psychological functioning of daughters of breast cancer patients. Part I: Daughters and comparison subjects. Psychosomatics, 32, 324–336.
Wellisch, D. K., Gritz, E. R., Schain, W., Wang, H.-J., & Siau, J. (1992). Psychological functioning of daughters of breast cancer patients. Part II: Characterizing the distressed daughter of the breast cancer patient. Psychosomatics, 33, 171–179.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Worsham, N.L., Compas, B.E., Ey, S. (1997). Children’s Coping with Parental Illness. In: Wolchik, S.A., Sandler, I.N. (eds) Handbook of Children’s Coping. Issues in Clinical Child Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2677-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2677-0_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3269-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2677-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive