This thesis researches, when and in connection with what, parents of the chronically diseased children experience sadness, anger, and fear. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the definition of the chronic disease, defines children’s condition as a traumatic event and addresses the parents’ reactions. What is more, it defines the term family, describes the dynamic of relations, depicts emotional experience of parents of diseased children, and suggests relation family therapy as a form of psychosocial help for the families.
The empirical part presents the research with 12 interviewees, one father and eleven mothers. The participants are aged from 31 to 43. For the purposes of the interviews a semi-structured interview was used and it covers the following areas: the experience of the diagnostic process, parenthood, family and partnership relations, relations with the medical profession, parents’ support, insecure future, deterioration of the disease, and care of their children. The results show that parents experience sadness, anger, and fear connected with the diagnosis procedure, ways of dealing with the disease, insecure future, family relations, relations with the medical profession, dealing with different obstacles, life challenges and accepting help.
The results show that the most common feeling is sadness, followed by fear and then anger. Child’s disease affects the child together with the whole family, and therefore leads to reorganisation of family roles and many changes. Parents, together with the whole family, have to accept the disease and discover and develop different strategies of coping with the disease and the situation as it is a long term process which demands adjustments and sacrificing in different areas.
Child’s chronic disease can negatively or positively affect the family. Furthermore, it awakens various intense feelings in the parents alongside with sadness, anger, and fear, and that affects further dealings with the disease.
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