The importance of perceptions of reality, as opposed to objective circumstances, is discussed in the context of treatment.

The effect of a chronic illness of one parent on children is determined by a complicated interaction of various emotional components. Our focus was on the children's and adolescent's emotional reactions and feelings towards their multiple sclerosis (MS)-affected parents, including: degree of responsibility, obligation and concern, yielding behaviour and active protection, fear and anxiety related to the state of illness, their sense of burden in connection with household tasks and errands, and anger. Fifty-six children, ages 10-18, each having a parent with MS, were examined. The results were compared to a control group of 156 age-matched children with healthy parents. Feelings were examined by means of a questionnaire previously constructed by us. We found that children of parents with MS felt more responsibility and obligation than children of healthy parents. They also exhibited more yielding behaviour, more fear and anxiety related to states of illness, a greater sense of burden and a greater degree of anger. We consider the interaction between the sex of the parent and the sex of the child in connection with these feelings and discuss the implications of the 'parental child' role of these children.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a cognitive-behavioral, biofeedback-assisted intervention to impart skills for coping with stressful encounters in a nonclinical adolescent population. Israeli Arab and Israeli Jewish participants completed pre-and postintervention questionnaires assessing state anxiety, test anxiety, behavior symptoms, hostility, and selfesteem. Electrodermal activity was recorded using biofeedback. From pre-to postintervention, scores of state anxiety, test anxiety, behavior symptoms, and self-esteem, but not hostility, changed significantly in the intervention group as compared with the control group. A significant Group ϫ School effect was evident for state and test anxiety and behavior problems, indicative of higher reductions in the Arab group. The cognitive-behavioral program proved an effective preventive intervention for adolescents.

The current study examines the implications of responsibility and obligation on separation-individuation processes and the appearance of various symptoms of psychological distress in adolescent children of multiple sclerosis (MS) parents. We examined 56 children, between the ages of 10 and 18 years, each with a parent with MS. The results were compared to a control group of 156 children whose parents were healthy. Children's emotions were examined by means of two questionnaires: Youth Self Report (YSR), and Separation Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA). It was found that children with a MS-affected parent displayed higher levels of depression and anxiety than children from the control group. Furthermore, children in the study group reported a greater degree of separation anxiety, compared to the control group. We conclude with clinical recommendations for developing therapeutic interventions for adolescents to MS-affected parents, as well as for their ill and healthy parents.

A substantial rate of participants experienced symptoms of acute stress, while for only small proportion were the symptoms consistent with ASD. Higher ASD and ASS were reported by the Arab sample, calling attention to the need to build interventions to reduce the present symptoms and to help prepare for possible similar situations in the future.