Chronic sorrow in parents of children with newly diagnosed diabetes: a review of the literature and discussion of the implications for nursing practice

Childhood (type 1) diabetes is a chronic, life-long condition, the diagnosis of which may represent multiple losses for parents. Their emotional responses to the diagnosis have been likened to the grief reactions experienced as a result of bereavement through death. The practice of health professionals who work with these families is informed by two contrasting theoretical views of the progress of grief reactions; the time bound and the chronic sorrow perspectives. This paper provides a critical appraisal of the evidence concerning grief reactions in parents of children with diabetes and evaluates the extent to which this supports the expectations of the time bound theorists, that parents normally reach an end stage of the grieving process, or those of the proponents of chronic sorrow, who anticipate lifelong, recurring sadness. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of the debate for nursing practice