摘要：In this article we present a qualitatively-driven study aimed at exploring the meaning-making processes
related to the maternal elaboration of their child’s diagnosis of chronic illness. In particular, we tried
to examine a specific function of this process in mediating between the mothers’ own emotional
experiences and the management of their children’s illness on a daily basis. We analyzed the narratives
of 21 mothers of young patients with type one diabetes mellitus (T1D), aged between 6 and 17 years,
collected through the “Sense of Grip Interview”. The whole narrative corpus was analyzed using the
method developed by Auerbach and Silverstein, called Hypothesis-generating research. We identified
four macro-processes in which the mediation function of the maternal meaning-making process is
articulated: emotional regulation, collaboration in the therapeutic management, presentation of the
disease and social sharing of the disease. The mediation function can act on two different levels: an
intra-personal level, by fostering maternal elaboration of the disease; and an inter-personal level, by
promoting the child’s meaning making process and the actions to manage their disease, in accordance
with the developmental competencies acquired by their children.
关键词：Chronic disease; Children; Narrative analysis; Type 1 Diabetes; Mothers
