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

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.