The literature about adolescence and healthcare tends to focus on the quest for independence and the importance of peer support. This article discusses the continuing importance of parental support during adolescence, especially when young people are admitted to hospital for surgery. It discusses why adolescents who are admitted to hospital for elective surgery will have different needs to young people who are admitted regularly for long-term conditions or those who are admitted due to risk-taking behaviour or mental health problems. It is suggested that elective admissions for surgery in otherwise fit and well young people may create a temporary change in developmental level, resulting in the need for parental support, rather than independence and peer support as recommended in the literature.
Nursing Children and Young People. 29, 4, 32-34. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2017.e815
Correspondence Peer reviewThis article has been subject to open peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
Conflict of interestNone declared
Received: 15 June 2016
Accepted: 13 January 2017
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