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Received: 19 October 2022
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Accepted: 27 November 2023
DOI: 10.1002/jad.12282
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Roles of physical functioning and comorbid mental illness
of chronically ill parents and their spouses' health status in
adolescent functioning
CliffYung‐Chi Chen
Educational and Community Programs, Queens
College of the City University of New York,
Flushing, New York, USA
Correspondence
CliffYung‐Chi Chen, Educational and
Community Programs, Queens College of the City
University of New York, 65‐30 Kissena Blvd,
Flushing, NY 11367, USA.
Email: yungchi.chen@qc.cuny.edu
Funding information
Research Foundation of The City University of
New York
Abstract
Introduction: Emerging research suggests that physically ill parents' psychological
adjustment to illness and emotional well‐being may affect adolescents' psychosocial
functioning. As people with chronic medical conditions often develop mental disorders,
it is important to examine the influence of comorbidity of parental physical and mental
health conditions on adolescents' functioning. In addition, the physical and mental
health status of the spouses/partners of chronically ill parents needs to be explored to
further understand the potential impact of parental chronic illness on adolescents'
psychological distress and academic performance.
Methods: Cross‐sectional data from 164 parent–adolescent pairs were collected
through online surveys in the United States between 2018 and 2019. Parent
participants (M
age
= 42.69, SD = 5.96) included parents who had been diagnosed with
a chronic physical illness (e.g., multiple sclerosis, diabetes, chronic pain, cancer).
Adolescent participants were middle‐and high‐school‐aged children who lived with
their physically ill parents (M
age
= 14.34, SD = 2.07).
Results: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that comorbid mental illness of
parental chronic illness and spousal mental health status were associated with
adolescents' distress. The level of physical functioning of chronically ill parents was
related to adolescents' academic performance.
Conclusion: Parental chronic illness appears to affect adolescents' psychological and
academic outcomes through distinct pathways. It is important to examine the
comorbid mental health status of chronically ill parents and their spouses'/partners'
mental health conditions to better understand the impact of parental chronic illness
on adolescents' psychological adjustment.
KEYWORDS
academic performance, adolescent, comorbidity, mental health, parental chronic illness, psychological
distress
1|INTRODUCTION
From a family systems perspective, parental chronic illness is a stressful life event that affects not only the ill parent but also
their spouse/partner and children as well as the family system as a whole (Golics et al., 2013; Rolland, 1999). Research has
suggested that parental physical illness increases the risk of reduced family functioning (e.g., quality of marital relationship,
parent–child interaction, family cohesion) and psychosocial adjustment problems in children and adolescents (Barkmann
et al., 2007; Chen, 2017; Sieh et al., 2010). The pathways in which parental physical illness affects children's adaption are
complex, and many illness‐related (e.g., duration and severity), personal (e.g., parent's and child's coping styles), and family
(e.g., parent–child relationship, communication style) factors may play a role in this intricate process. Emerging research
Journal of Adolescence. 2024;96:381–393. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jad
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© 2023 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.