Early psychological reactions in parents of children with a life threatening illness within a pediatric hospital setting

Abstract

Research in context: Parents of children with life threatening illness or injuries are at elevated risk of distress reactions, involving symptoms of acute stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Currently, the impact of child illness factors is unclear, and to date research systematically examining the prevalence of these psychological reactions across different illness groups with an acute life threat is sparse. This is important to explore given that studies show that parent functioning impacts on the psychological adjustment and recovery of the ill child. What does this study add?: At four weeks following a child's diagnosis of a serious illness, 49-54% of parents met DSM-IV criteria for..