Parenting with a Mental Health Disorder

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Parenting with a mental health disorder: a qualitative research study investigating the way in which patients who are parents communicate with their children about their mental health disorder

• IRAS ID

  280587

• Contact name

  Alan Stein

• Contact email

  alan.stein@psych.ox.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  R&D - Head of Research Management

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Research Summary
  How do parents communicate with their children about their mental health disorder?

  Background

  In the UK the majority of men and women who have a mental health disorder are also parents who face the challenge of maintaining a parenting role while also dealing with the challenges of their own diagnosis. Similarly being a child of a parent with a mental health disorder has been shown to be associated with multiple psychological and developmental risks. Despite research showing both parents and children would like to have an increased understanding of how to discuss these issues, there is little research which investigates how parents communicate with their children about parental mental health.

  Research Question
  • Primary:
  To explore the experiences and perceptions of parents who have a mental health disorder about how they communicate with their children about their condition

  To explore children’s experiences and perceptions of having parents with a mental health disorder and how information about their parent’s condition is communicated

  • Secondary:
  To develop a wider understanding of the ways in which healthcare provision might be improved for this population of patients by improving the communication of parents with their children about their mental health disorder

  Study design: Qualitative interview study using semi-structured interviews. Participants will be recruited from an adult community mental health team. Following informed consent interviews will be conducted remotely over the phone/MS Teams or in-person (if requested and possible under COVID19 guidelines), recorded via dictaphone and last around 30 minutes. The data will be transcribed, pseudonymised and analysed thematically.

  Study Participants (15-25/group):
  1. Patients under the care of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust who are parents and have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder
  2. Children (aged 8-24) of parents from group 1.

  Follow-up: one qualitative interview and one optional check-in via telephone after completion of the qualitative interview at the participant's discretion.

  Summary of Results
  Many adults living with a mental illness are also parents, and they
  frequently face the difficult decision of whether, and what, to disclose to their children about their condition. This choice is often influenced by feelings of shame and guilt, alongside a natural desire to shield their children from distress. However, honest communication regarding parental mental illness can offer significant benefits for children's psychological well-being. Healthcare professionals are ideally positioned to facilitate these crucial conversations, yet this often does not occur.

  Our study involved qualitative interviews with fifteen parents in England who were receiving care for a mental illness within the NHS. Audio recordings of these interviews were transcribed and carefully coded line by line to understand the ideas and themes of the ideas and experiences shared by parents.

  The analysis of the interviews identified four principal themes:

  1. There were a wide range of opinions and experiences about sharing information with children. Decisions about what to tell children was often shaped by concerns about how to explain specific diagnoses and the potential impact of such information on both the parents themselves and their families.

  2. Parents recognised the benefits of discussing their mental illness with their children, including helping children understand parental behaviour and reducing anxiety. Some parents felt that drawing on their own experiences had been helpful in supporting their child through a difficult emotional experience (for example bullying at school).

  3. Parents described a ‘shared responsibility’ with their child’s other parent about telling children. Many recognised that when they were acutely ill, it was the ‘well’parent or other family members who spent most time with their child. This shared responsibility could be helpful, but could also lead to some difficulties if family relationships were strained.

  4. A striking finding was that no professionals had inquired about the
  children's awareness of their parent's mental illness or offered guidance on initiating these discussions. Nevertheless, all participants expressed a strong desire for such professional support and advice.

  This study underscores the pressing need for enhanced support in
  facilitating communication about parental mental illness. Improving this aspect requires the development of targeted training programs for
  healthcare professionals and the provision of age-appropriate resources for families. Ultimately, fostering effective communication regarding parental mental illness is critical for enhancing children's mental health outcomes and strengthening overall family relationships.

• REC name

  Wales REC 4

• REC reference

  21/WA/0345

• Date of REC Opinion

  25 Nov 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion