Purpose: Severe parental somatic illnesses can influence the entire family, including adolescents' everyday life, psychosocial functioning and health. Within salutogenesis, it is highlighted that stressor life events, such as parental somatic illness, might lead to a chain of events that can produce tension. There is a lack of in-depth understanding regarding how adolescents living in a situation with a severely somatically ill parent (SIP) perceive their own mental health. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the lived experience of Norwegian adolescents living with an SIP, and their perception of the parental illness' influence on their mental health. Methods: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 adolescents (aged 13-18 years) who had an SIP. Two adolescents with an SIP participated in study preparation and data analysis. Results: Adolescents perceived parental somatic illness as a multifaceted influence on their mental health as it represented both personal and relational strain and growth. Their perceptions can be conceptualized by the super-ordinate theme "living in an earthquake zone", and by two themes, "inner shakes-but not falling apart" and "relational aftershocksgains and losses". Conclusion: For adolescents, parental somatic illness means personal and relational strain and growth.

Objective Having a somatically ill parent can influence adolescents’ daily lives and mental health. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of mental health promotion among adolescents with a somatically ill parent, based on a salutogenic orientation. Methods Individual interviews with 11 adolescents (13–18 years of age) with a somatically ill parent were conducted. The data were analysed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results A superordinate theme, feeling at home in a house of mental health–promoting conversations , frames the participants’ perceptions of a prominent mental health promotion experience, including decisive characteristics of the significant conversation partners and different important conversation contexts. The metaphor of feeling at home expresses that the participants ascribe the conversations taking place there as promoting mental health. The themes elucidate the superordinate theme: (a) significant conversation partners characterised by the three subthemes: (i) being available, (ii) being competent and (iii) being caring and (b) rooms reflecting conversation contexts containing four subthemes: (i) room of increased knowledge, (ii) room of disclosure, (iii) room for meeting points and (iv) room for breaks. Conclusion Adolescents with a somatically ill parent perceived that conversations about important topics with significant others with special characteristics in distinct contexts promoted mental health.