Putting the family back in the child

As clinicians and scientists we see daily the close tie between parental competence and emotional functioning and how children succeed with many of life's stressors. Inadequate attention has been paid to the theoretical underpinnings of predicting children's emotional reactions to stress from a systems perspective. Longitudinal developmental studies of parental influence on children's ability to cope with life's frustrations, through reciprocal interactions and genetic predispositions, are mandatory. Theoretical frameworks are already developed which must be drawn on to derive the best predictions of when and how to involve our child patients with family support. The current essay will attempt to bridge family systems and social network theories to the understanding of children's coping with medical stressors.