Parents facing their child disease: insights from attachment theory

The emotional and cognitive reactions related to the experience of loss and trauma represent a topic of primary importance for the field of clinical psychology. Having said that, attachment theory has paid special attention to parental reactions to the child diagnosis of serious illness. Indeed, the experience of receiving a child’s diagnosis destabilizes the parents, leading them toward a mandatory reorganization of the self and baby’s representation, as well as of their relationship. On one hand, parents may appear unable to overcome this traumatic experience, being stuck in the past, and more prone to stressful emotional reactions such as anger and sadness. On the other hand, parents may show their ability to cope with reality and its consequences, promoting a greater communication with their child and his/her needs. Although the clinical relevance of this field of investigation, literature is still questioning about which features provide greater parental skills. A deeper investigation of variables such as disease prognosis, number of hospitalization, intrapersonal and relational features may help to shed light on the mechanisms underlying this particular caregiving system. The goal of the current chapter is to introduce research data and a few clinical examples, providing a new insight on this topic according to attachment theory.

The emotional and cognitive reactions related to the experience of loss and trauma represent a topic of primary importance for the field of clinical psychology. Besides, attachment theory has paid special attention to parental reactions to the child diagnosis of serious illness. Indeed, the experience of receiving a child's diagnosis destabilizes the parents, leading them toward a mandatory reorganization of the self and baby's representation, as well as of their relationship. On one hand, parents may appear unable to overcome this traumatic experience, being stuck in the past, and more prone to stressful emotional reactions such as anger and sadness. On the other hand, parents may show their ability to cope with reality and its consequences, promoting a greater communication with their child and his/her needs. Although the clinical relevance of this field of investigation, literature is still questioning about which features provide greater parental skills. A deeper investigation of variables such as disease prognosis, number of hospitalization, intrapersonal and relational features may help to shed light on the mechanisms underlying this particular caregiving system. The goal of the current chapter is to introduce research data and a few clinical examples, providing a new insight on this topic according to attachment theory.