Parenting while struggling with emotional intensity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The parenting experiences, help seeking and support provided to parents who struggle with emotional intensity and changeable moods.
IRAS ID
230056
Contact name
A Dunn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sussex
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterised by struggles in emotional intensity, changeable moods, challenges in interpersonal relationships, and an increased likelihood of self-harm. When coupled with the challenges of parenting, these characteristics can make it difficult for an individual with BPD to provide stable, responsive and nurturing care to their children and places their children at risk of a range of negative psychological and social outcomes (Petfield, 2015). Unsurprisingly the experience of parenting can be a highly stressful and unsatisfying one (Newman, Stevenson, Bergman, & Boyce, 2007) and can worsen a vulnerable parent’s mental health (Van de Ende, 2016; Berg-nielsen, Vikan, & Dahl, 2002).
Parents with sub-threshold BPD experience many of the same challenges and are as at risk of negative outcomes as those who meet diagnostic threshold. As such, we are including parents with both subthreshold and diagnosed BPD in the study and will refer to them as ‘struggling with emotional intensity and changeable moods (EICM)’.
Although the parenting deficits of individuals struggling with EICM have been identified, there is limited evidence as to the strengths, weaknesses, needs and hopes as described by the parents themselves. This project will utilise a qualitative design to examine the parenting experience of these individuals and the support offered in this domain. A series of semi-structured focus groups will be carried out with parents, practitioners working with parents struggling with EICM and older children of parents with these challenges. This will provide a rich, multidimensional understanding of the experience and needs of this group.
Data will be subject to thematic analysis as part of which parent participants will be invited to engage with the development of themes. The research will be disseminated via publication in a peer-reviewed journal and will be used to inform the later development of a targeted intervention.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0172
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion