Strategies for intervention and research with children or adolescents who have a parent with multiple sclerosis

Parents with multiple sclerosis worry about effects their illness may have on their children. This stress can be a factor in exacerbating parental illness, yet little conclusive research exists about this population of children. In most instances their existence is not even recorded within the medical records of their parents. Children with chronically ill parents have been described by some as constrained, depressed and antisocial. In contrast, other authors, including this researcher, have concluded that these children are more empathetic and are advanced in friendship concept development compared to the general population. Implications for nursing research and nursing care are presented.