Soumya Chaudhary
Introduction
Parents and Guardians are an adolescent's first form of support. Not having this form of support during the period of growth can lead to various issues causing difficulties and trajectories in an adolescent's life. Studies depict that adolescents who have been raised with parents struggling with mental and physical health often tend to face mood disorders, poorer academic achievement, social impairment, and reduced mental wellness. Many adolescents tend to face stigma in society due to having grown up with disabled parents and this stigma causes them to have a worse mental state and lesser support, ruining their process of development (Dobener et al., 2022). Stigma caused by society has reported feelings of embarrassment, shame, and the need to hide their parent's illness. To address the importance of this issue and reduce the stigma lying around this issue, this research paper aims to address the impact on adolescents and the problems faced by them, while growing up with disabled parents.
Instability/Loss/Fear/Loneliness
Many times adolescents are misinformed and tend not to be told about their parent's illness and are left to figure it out on their own. This causes a lack of information and confusion which causes them to face confusion about their parent's illness. Studies have shown that adolescents who are not informed about their parent's illness tend to face feelings of sadness and depression. Parents' mood swings and behaviors tend to cause instability and unpredictability in adolescents' behaviors. They have explained that their parent's temper tends to ruin the family's atmosphere and cause negativity. They also tend to feel afraid of their parent's behaviors and temper. In a study, a girl mentioned how she was scared to speak to her father, assuming that her father could get angry at any time. They felt afraid, particularly about suicide and how any of their parents could relapse at any time causing feelings of worries and anxiety in them. They also expressed feelings of anxiety due to heredity and the passing on of the disease. Students and adolescents also mentioned not having a good relationship with their parents and feeling lonely due to not having a support system. They reported feelings of being left out and missing their parents, they also said that sometimes they face feelings of jealousy after seeing their peers having healthy relationships with their parents (Trondsen, 2011).
Coping Mechanisms
School Intervention programs
Many adolescents who tend to miss school and have larger school absences have parents who have work absences. They tend to face the burden of a higher amount of responsibilities which causes them to miss school opportunities (Hysing et al., 2017). To help students whose parents do not work due to illness and to help them feel comfortable at school, the school should incorporate intervention programs in which they are assisted by social workers and their education is looked over by another adult, ensuring that they receive the education they require. To make sure that the needs of the student are met and that they do not feel left out or alone in the school, support groups should be created to help support the child through the difficulties and make sure they feel involved and appreciated.
Engaging in self-care practices
Adolescents who have sick parents tend to be a more vulnerable group. They tend to have unemployed parents which causes them to work harder to provide for the family. Including school and work, they tend to have various responsibilities making them a more vulnerable group to mental health issues (Nevriana, n.d.). Engaging in self-care activities, and taking sufficient rest can help an adolescent. Enjoying activities such as reading, listening to music, cycling, or talking to their peers can help reduce their huge amounts of stress. Make sure that they have a proper sleep cycle and that they receive an adequate amount of sleep to help nurture their health better.
Conclusion
Various problems can arise among adolescents with sick or disabled parents. The issues can affect their mental health, social relationships, and academic pursuits and become an added emotional load once they feel stigmatized due to their parental illness. Responsibility given may be an added burden to their emotional load. Development will therefore be greatly affected. Promoting proper coping skills through self-care practices, school intervention programs, peer support, and counseling would surely lower the level of stress these adolescents have to face. More awareness and more resources are required so that adolescents may get all that they need to sustain a healthy life.
References
Dobener, L., Fahrer, J., Purtscheller, D., Bauer, A., Paul, J. L., & Christiansen,
H. (2022). How do children of parents with mental illness experience stigma?
A Systematic Mixed Studies review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13.
Trondsen, M. V. (2011). Living with a mentally ill parent. Qualitative Health
Research, 22(2), 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732311420736
Hysing, M., Petrie, K. J., Bøe, T., & Sivertsen, B. (2017). Parental work
absenteeism is associated with increased symptom complaints and school
absence in adolescent children. BMC Public Health, 17(1).
Nevriana, A. (n.d.). Children and Adolescents with Parental Mental Illness
(CAPRI) : Prevalence, Physical Health, and Social Outcomes - ProQuest.
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