Short report: What about the parents? The importance of the family context within paediatric psychology

Abstract

First paragraph: Research shows that throughout childhood parents play a vital and unique but changing role in maintaining their child's health related quality of life. Parents are in charge of disease management during early childhood, yet their dominance must, of necessity, diminish as children grow through adolescence, as their child acquires independence over all levels of functioning, including disease management strategies (Hachette, McGrath, Murray, & Finley, 2008; Snead, Ackerson, Bailey, Schmitt, Madan-Swain, & Martin, 2004). During this transition from childhood to adulthood, individuals mature physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally; a key developmental task being achievement of autonomy from parents. In the context of a chronic illness, this can be seen as adolescents taking responsibility, either with or without parental assistance, for the management of their condition. Facilitating an appropriate transfer of responsibilities from parent to adolescent is vital as problematic transfers have been linked to non-adherence to treatment (Williams, Mukhopadhyay, Dowell, & Coyle, 2007).