This research examined child-parent relationships from the perspective of the psychological well-being of parents during midlife and while launching children. A subsample of 1,253 parents from the National Survey of Families and Households was studied using variables from both waves (1988 and 1993) of longitudinal data. Fathers and mothers were analyzed separately for depression and self-satisfaction at the second wave (1993) in relation to their< perceptions of child, adjustment and child-parent relationships in 1988, and parents' employment and their marital status in 1993. Analyses showed that fathers' depression scores in 1 g93 were significantly related to fathers' perceptions of child adjustment (total and positive), and fathers' age, marital, and employment status. Mothers' depression scores were associated with their marital and employment status and with mothers' perceptions of child adjustment. iii Analyses demonstrated that fathers' self-satisfaction was related to all children having departed and to fathers' marital status, but not to fathers' perceptions of child adjustment. Mothers' self-satisfaction was more frequently related to their marital status and to perceptions of child adjustment but not to children having departed. The small number of significant associations between launching and parents' well-being suggests that either launching is not as highly associated with parental well-being as previously believed, or that launching is a more elusive concept than reflected by the measures used in this study. Age, employment, and marital status appear to be more salient to parents well-being than the departure of children as measured in these studies. The findings also suggest that some aspects of the role of parenting may not change significantly when children leave home. From the findings of this research, future research endeavors should reconsider the concept of launching per se as well as its relation to parents' wellbeing in mid life. Other factors such as marriage and employment should be more closely studied as being more strongly related to well-being in mid life than children's departures from home.

This thesis considers parental psychological well-being and the acceptability of parenting support for those who have an adolescent with type one diabetes (T1D). Within the literature it is acknowledged that T1D diagnosis and management can have an effect on all family members. Furthermore poor parental well-being can impact negatively on adolescent well-being. It is therefore important to understand parental well-being in the context of adolescent T1D. Paper one presents a literature review of the psychological status of parents of adolescents with T1D. The review highlighted that adolescent T1D diagnosis has the potential to impact on parental psychological well-being, with some parents experiencing clinically concerning symptoms of anxiety, depression or psychological distress at different time points during their adolescent’s chronic illness. Over recent years it has increasingly been recognised that psychosocial variables can impact on physical well-being and illness management. It is important that individuals who experience distress are offered appropriate support. With regard to families and parents, psychological support may be offered through parenting interventions. Paper two aimed to explore whether Teen Triple P Positive Parenting Programme resources were acceptable to parents of adolescents with T1D and whether they would be interested in undertaking a parenting intervention. It also explored whether adolescent behaviour difficulties, parental psychological distress or diabetes-related family conflict were related to parents’ acceptability ratings and intentions to participate. Diabetes factors, such as time since diagnosis and levels of blood glucose control were also considered. The results indicated that the Teen Triple P resources have the potential to be acceptable to parents and that they would be interested in participating in a parenting intervention if one was available to them. The critical reflection considers both the literature review and the scientific study. Within this paper the approaches used, the challenges encountered, and the implications for clinical practice, and future research, are considered.