Social support, leisure time, school experience boost wellbeing in kids with ill parents
02 Aug 2021
Social support, a positive school experience, and satisfying leisure time may help adolescents with an ill parent maintain their wellbeing, a recent study has found.
The study included 676 students (mean age 17.1 years, 73.6 percent girls) with a parent who had serious or chronic illness and who had participated in the nationwide Danish Well-being Despite Study. The five-item WHO Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess participant wellbeing.
More than a quarter (26.7 percent) of participants had patients with spinal conditions. Other common parental illnesses were arthritis (20.0 percent), migraines or frequent headaches (19.1 percent), cancer (14.0 percent), and apoplexy (10.2 percent).
Mean WHO-5 scores were 61.1±19.7 and 49.3±19.2 in boys and girls, respectively, of whom 73.0 percent and 49.6 percent scored above 50 points, indicative of moderate to high wellbeing.
Adjusted analyses revealed that several measures of social support, such as confidentiality with parents, availability of parents, and support from friends and siblings, were significantly promotive of wellbeing. Odds ratio (OR) estimates ranged from 1.6 to 5.3 for social support parameters.
Satisfying leisure time had a similar effect. Participants who had at least weekly leisure time and enough time for themselves and their friends saw OR estimates ranging from 1.5 to 3.7.
The same was true regarding the participants’ school experience. Higher trust in their teachers, being part of the community in class, and feeling that their school was a nice place to be increased the likelihood of good wellbeing by 2.3 to 4.7 times.
“The results of this study underline the importance of action across ecological levels to ensure wellbeing among adolescents experiencing parental illness. Family, friends, schools, and leisure time facilities need to be aware of their opportunity to be a resource in these young peoples’ lives and possibly contribute to the resilience of these young people,” the researchers said.