Parenting Emerging Adults with Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Analysis of the Parents' Perspective

Parents of emerging adults are requested to adjust their level of support and control according to their child's developmental age and to foster their autonomy. This developmental task may be more difficult when emerging adults are suffering from a chronic illness. Parenting emerging adults with a chronic illness is an under-investigated topic, especially with reference to multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disease usually diagnosed in emerging adulthood. The study aims to qualitatively explore the characteristics of the relationship that parents report having with their emerging adult children (18-29 years) with MS. Specifically, we investigated how the dimensions of support and control emerge from the parents' perspective, whether overparenting (characterized by both oversupport and overcontrol) emerges, and its characteristics. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of emerging adults with MS, and a qualitative content analysis was performed through Atlas.ti 6.0 software, combining a deductive and an inductive approach in relation to the study aims. A system of 13 codes was defined and a total of 141 quotations were codified. Overparenting appears to be the most frequent relational mode among the parents interviewed. Most quotations referred to oversupport (in particular, parents report anticipatory anxiety about child's well-being and show excessive indulgence and permissiveness) and overcontrol (in particular, parents report a vicarious management of daily life and medical therapies). The study gives indications for psychological interventions helping parents to adequately support their children while encouraging their autonomous management of daily life and illness-related difficulties. Most of the parents interviewed report overparenting their emerging adult children with MS. Oversupport is characterized primarily by parental anticipatory anxiety, excessive permissiveness and infantilization. Overcontrol is characterized primarily by vicarious parental management of both daily life and medical therapies. For some of the parents interviewed, adaptive parenting may coexist with overparenting. Some of the parents interviewed manage to balance support and control, even when relationship difficulties arise due to MS.