The impact of serious parental physical illness on college adjustment: role of relationship factors

Abstract

Little is known about the long-term impact of serious parental physical illness or the role that family and peer relationships play in predicting adjustment. This study sought to illuminate the associations between subjective impact of serious parental physical illness, change in relationship quality during the time of serious parental illness, and college adjustment. Results indicated that perceived impact of parental illness did not predict long-term adjustment outcomes. Negative changes in the quality of specific relationships (e.g., relationships with the ill parent, other parent, siblings, or peers) did not function individually as predictors of long-term outcomes, and changes in relationship quality did not predict specific subtypes of college adjustment (emotional, academic, and social). Results indicated that women are more likely to report high subjective illness impact than men, but no gender differences in college adjustment were found. These findings have interesting implications for our understandings of long-term adjustment to serious physical parental illness.