Avere un figlio gravemente malato: la reazione dei genitori alla diagnosi/ Having a child with a severe disease: parents’ reaction to diagnosis

Background. Parents react to the communication that their child has a severe disease or disability diagnosis, as though other traumatic circumstances. The un-resolution and un-integration of the child’s diagnosis can undermine parents’ caregiving abilities and constitute a risk factor for both child and parents disease evolution and psychological wellness. Description. After a short review of the current research on the field, authors describe a meaningful measure for analysing parents’ reactions to a diagnosis of a chronic disability or severe disease in children, born in the framework of the Attachment Theory, as the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview (RDI). Using this instrument, a relationship between attachment security and diagnosis resolution in several pathological diseases has been evidenced. In addition to the RDI, a self-report questionnaire created by authors has been presented. This instrument analyses the change of the emotional experience at the communication of the child’s diagnosis. Authors utilised the RDI with parents of children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and report some clinical examples of resolution or un-resolution of diagnosis. Conclusions. Authors underline the positive influence of the RDI in the assessment of chronically ill children s’ parents. This approach allows the prevention of psychopathological outcomes in both parents and ill children.