Chronic sorrow in mothers of chronically ill and disabled children

A qualitative study is presented following the hybrid model of concept development to examine the emotions present in mothers who care for their chronically ill children at home. In particular the study attempts to examine the presence or nonpresence of chronic sorrow in three mothers through the use of observation and intensive interview techniques and by following the Schatzman and Strauss (1973) method of field research. The population for this study varied in diagnosis, sex, age, prognosis, and family structure. The commonalities included an uncertain future, a significantly changed life-style as a result of the child's illness, and the presence of nursing care in the home. The emotion called chronic sorrow, introduced in 1962 by Olshansky, has had limited exposure in the literature. The concept was originally intended for examinations of parents of severely mentally retarded children. Recently it has been examined in varied populations. Although many different reactions have been presented in the literature regarding the emotions of parents of chronically ill children, chronic sorrow has not been one of them. The examination of this emotion has been disease specific. The presence of this emotion in this population has implications for nurses working in all care settings.