Reviewing the psychological impact on adolescent children of parents with non-communicable diseases

Abstract

Objective: to investigate how chronic diseases in parents can interfere with the psychological health of adolescent children. Methodology: a bibliographic survey in database platforms such as PubMed and SciELO, conducted between 1990 and 2019. Results: adolescent children of parents with long-term cancer, psychiatric diseases and in chronic pain are more likely to suffer anxiety, depression and alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse. Such relevance to the children’s psychological health depends on which disease affects the parents, whether it affects the father or the mother, the severity of the disease, and the gender of the adolescent. Conclusion: this study assists in warning family members and health professionals about the risk of dysfunction in the lives of children within an environment of chronic diseases.