Exploring young people's conversations about parental mental health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Children of parents with mental illness: A grounded theory study exploring young people’s conversations with their peers.
IRAS ID
202951
Contact name
Lizette Nolte
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hertfordshire
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 0 days
Research summary
It has been identified that many young people in England are living with a parent with a mental illness and many are not recognised by services. Although there has been a large body of evidence that has examined the impact of parental mental illness on young people, a lot of this research has focused on the idea that young people are “at risk” and has not included the views and experience of the young people affected.
It has been recognised that more research needs to be conducted into the processes that are involved in shaping a young person's experience of living with a parent that experiences a mental health difficulty. Findings that have explored young people's experiences have acknowledged the importance of talking about the parent's mental health problems and of peer support, however it has been suggested that talking and sharing experiences with others can sometimes be difficult.
Therefore this research aims to explore this area in more detail, which will be helpful when thinking both about avenues of support for people that are not accessing services in addition to thinking about service design. By understanding these processes we can gain further insight into sources of support for young people with the aim of informing clinical practice and interventions.
The proposed research aims to interview young people who live with a parent with a mental health difficulty to develop an understanding of the processes that occur, which inform their views and beliefs about talking and how these relate to the conversations that young people have.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0298
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion