Anxious parents promoting their pre-schoolers' mental health.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Promoting the mental health of children with anxious parents: parents' views and needs (PROMOTE study).
IRAS ID
331503
Contact name
Francesca Zecchinato
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Head of Research Ethics and Clinical Governance, University of Southampton
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 16 days
Research summary
Anxiety disorders are characterised by intense emotional and physical distress that can manifest in different situations and towards different objects (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), and represent the most prevalent psychiatric condition in the general population worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 16% (Kessler et al., 2009), and even higher rates since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Children of anxious parents should be recognised as a high-risk population. Indeed, the scientific literature consistently shows that parental anxiety represents a risk factor for the development of emotional and behavioural problems in their children (e.g., Lawrence et al., 2019; Jami et al., 2020). Consequently, efforts to prevent child mental health problems, and promote positive child developmental outcomes could focus on children whose parents are anxious. However, this issue has been overlooked by research and clinical practice, and there are currently no NHS services aimed at preventing the negative impacts that parental anxiety can have in their children.
This qualitative study aims to address this key gap by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents (18 year +) who have preschool-age children and who have received NHS psychological therapy for anxiety disorders to understand what they would want/expect from a programme aimed at promoting their children’s positive development. Specifically, the interviews will examine anxious parents’ views on preventing mental ill-health in their children, in terms of concerns, service accessibility, usability, and barriers to access to prevention. Interviews will be analysed using qualitative methods.Lay Summary of Results
The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore what parents who have accessed an NHS talking therapy service for anxiety would need from a service aimed at supporting them in the prevention of the potential negative impacts of parental anxiety on their preschool-age offspring. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 UK-based parents. Using reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were generated. "There's just not enough support" highlighted the current lack, in England, of a service that supports anxious parents with the prevention of their children’s mental ill-health; “It’s not easy to find your way to help” explored existing and potential barriers to service access; “It’s a balance” collected the characteristics of an accessible and usable service to support parents in supporting their children; and “Advertise it well” focused on strategies to facilitate the promotion and access to the service. The overarching theme, "We just need more support for parents. Full stop.”, captured the urgent need of more support for anxious parents and of acting to prevent child mental ill-health. Findings from this study provide insights on what an adequate prevention service to promote the mental health of children with anxious parents could look like, and can help direct future research, clinical, and policy efforts towards the development of prevention programmes that are accessible and acceptable.
Has the registry been updated to include summary results?: No
If yes - please enter the URL to summary results:
If no – why not?: This study is not on a registry
Did you follow your dissemination plan submitted in the IRAS application form (Q A51)?: Pending
If yes, describe or provide URLs to disseminated materials:
If pending, date when dissemination is expected: 31/01/2025
If no, explain why you didn't follow it:
Have participants been informed of the results of the study?: Pending
If yes, describe and/or provide URLs to materials shared and how they were shared:
If pending, date when feedback is expected: 31/12/2024
If no, explain why they haven't:
Have you enabled sharing of study data with others?: No
If yes, describe or provide URLs to how it has been shared:
If no, explain why sharing hasn't been enabled: Anonymised data will be shared when publishing the results in a peer-reviewed journal.
Have you enabled sharing of tissue samples and associated data with others?: No
If yes, describe or provide a URL:
If no, explain why: this study does not involve tissue sample or associated data
Submitted on: 08/10/2024REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0891
Date of REC Opinion
13 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion