Furthering the Understanding of Parent-Child Relationships: A Nursing Scholarship Review Series. Part 4: Parent-Child Relationships at Risk

PURPOSE: The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize nursing scholarship on parent-child relationships considered fragile because of parent-child's chronic condition or occurrence within a risky context. CONCLUSIONS: Most reviewed studies demonstrated negative effects of risk conditions on parent-child relationships and documented importance of child, parent, and contextual variables. Studies were predominately single investigations. Varying theoretical perspectives complicated interpretation. Mainly White, middle-class, and small samples limited generalizability. Important areas for further research were identified. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nurse researchers identified factors that may interfere with the parent-child relationship. Nurses are in a position to support families under these circumstances.