Child to parent violence in CAMHS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do parents of children open to child and adolescent mental health services experience child to parent violence?
IRAS ID
346828
Contact name
Bridie Bradshaw
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
The research question being addressed is: How do parents of children open to child and adolescent mental health services experience child to parent violence?
Child to parent violence (CPV) is a term used to describe behaviour where children are violent or abusive towards their parents or caregivers.
In terms of how this question is of relevance and importance to patients/the public, CPV is a harmful problem which results in emotional distress and mental health difficulties for parents and distress for the child engaging in the violent behaviour. It is likely that parents of children who are open to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) experience more child to parent violence than children who are not, as children with mental health difficulties and/or are neurodivergent are more likely to engage in CPV than children who do not have mental health difficulties. Yet, there is no qualitative research which focuses on these parents’ experience.
This qualitative study aims to address a research gap by exploring how experiencing violence from children may impact on parents’ mental health and wellbeing, how it may impact their relationship with their child and dynamics within the wider family, and parents’ experience of disclosure and support. In terms of who is eligible for the study, participants will be parents (including foster parents, adoptive parents, family carers and legal guardians) of children who are currently open to CAMHS.
Data will be collected in one interview lasting approximately 90 minutes, which will take place either over Microsoft Teams or onsite at the Maudsley Hospital. We hope to begin recruitment in December 2024 and finish data collection by May 2025.
The research is being undertaken in partial fulfilment of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at King’s College London, the places for which are funded by Health Education England.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0022
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion