A new research suggests that there are benefits of parenting a child with severe illness.
Researchers said that despite the challenges of caring for severely ill children some parents reported positive outcomes from taking care of severely ill children.
According to the researchers, the phenomenon is known as post-traumatic growth. "What is pivotal is the meaning the parents make-what it means to them to be a parent who is doing more than parenting: they are care-giving as well," lead author Professor Susan Cadell of the School of Social Work at Renison University College at Waterloo said in a news release. "For many parents this means learning a great deal about their child's illness, the treatment and sometimes it includes advocating for themselves and others in similar circumstances."
For the study, the researchers interviewed over 270 parents of children aged below 20 based in Canada and the United States. The children had serious diseases and conditions such as cancer, severe cerebral palsy and irreversible organ failure.
The findings showed that parents spent over 62 hours a week as caregivers. Most of the parents said that they had to change their employment status after their children had been diagnosed, and had struggled in managing costs.
Despite the problems, the researchers found better outcomes in the caregivers. Researchers assessed participants' growth by using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), a common tool used to measure positive aspects of stressful situations. Out of a possible 126 points the parents reported an average of 62 on the PTGI scale.
"The findings indicate that there are a variety of positive aspects in a population where we think not much positive at all is happening," Cadell said in a statement. "Our response rate was high because people wanted to talk about their children, families and relationships. This research has the potential to positively impact support for care-giving parents."
The findings were published in the most recent issue of the 'American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.'
