Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Dutch youth of parents with a mental illness reflect upon their feelings of guilt and shame
- Authors:
- BOSCH Annick, RIEBSCHLEGER Joanne, LOON Linda van
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 19(3), 2017, pp.159-172.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) have a higher risk of acquiring a mental illness themselves. Feelings of guilt and shame could increase COPMI risks of acquiring mental health disorder symptoms. These feelings of guilt and shame could also impact the quality of the parent-child relationship. Data were drawn from the qualitative part of a mixed method study featuring 18 face-to-face interviews with Dutch COPMI aged 12–21. Interviewees were asked about their experiences with guilt and shame related to their parent with mental illness and the extent they felt that these feelings affected their relationships with their parents. Qualitative thematic analysis (QTA) revealed that most COPMI youth described feelings of guilt and some of them reported feelings of shame. They reported making behavioural adjustments especially using caution in parental communication. In their perception, guilt and shame did not have long-term impacts on their relationships with parents. (Edited publisher abstract)
To preserve or not to preserve: That is the question. Decision-making about family preservation among families in multi-problem situations
- Authors:
- VISCHER Anne-Fleur W.K., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 99, 2019, pp.441-450.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
High rates of failed reunification indicate that family preservation (FP) does not necessarily lead to permanency for children. It could be argued that, in such failed cases, the decision-making process leading to the preservation of the family was inadequate. In order to gain insight into the role that decision-making plays in family preservation practice, the authors studied decision-making within an FP-intervention programme provided by the Expertise Center. The Expertise Center explicitly combines treatment and decision-making in an assessment-based intervention that is provided to families seeking either to be reunited with their young child (0–2) or to avoid an out-of-home placement of the child. In addition, at least one of the parents has psychiatric problems. The authors attempted to a) map decision-making trajectories in practice and b) provide feedback about Expertise Center decision-making based on evidence regarding the – sometimes evolving – quality of parental behaviour as observed in the participants. They used a descriptive design (n = 100) as well as a one-group repeated measures design (n = 28) to examine parental behaviour using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE). The authors hypothesized that a negative recommendation regarding family preservation would manifest itself in the display of more frequent and more severe atypical parental behaviour. The results indicate that the Expertise Center succeeded in contributing broadly to timely decision-making in the context of permanency planning, and that implementation of the Decision-making Continuum potentially improved the quality of clinical decision-making. Furthermore, the authors' hypothesis was confirmed by four out of five measurements of parental behaviour that have been proven to be significant for children's attachment security. Since these are promising results, the Expertise Center program could serve as an inspiration for the practice field. (Edited publisher abstract)
Factors promoting mental health of adolescents who have a parent with mental illness: a longitudinal study
- Authors:
- LOON L.M A.van, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Youth Care Forum, 44(6), 2015, pp.777-799.
- Publisher:
- Springer
Background: Children of parents with mental illness have an elevated risk of developing a range of mental health and psychosocial problems. Yet many of these children remain mentally healthy. Objective: The present study aimed to get insight into factors that protect these children from developing internalising and externalising problems. Methods: Several possible individual, parent–child, and family protective factors were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a sample of 112 adolescents. A control group of 122 adolescents whose parents have no mental illness was included to explore whether the protective factors were different between adolescents with and without a parent with mental illness. Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed that high self-esteem and low use of passive coping strategies were related to fewer internalising and externalising problems. Greater self-disclosure was related to fewer internalising problems and more parental monitoring was related to fewer externalising problems. Active coping strategies, parental support, and family factors such as cohesion were unrelated to adolescent problem behaviour. Longitudinal analyses showed that active coping, parental monitoring, and self-disclosure were protective against developing internalising problems 2 years later. The authors found no protective factors for externalising problems. Moderation analyses showed that the relationships between possible protective factors and adolescent problem behaviour were not different for adolescents with and without a parent with mental illness. Conclusions: The findings suggest that adolescents’ active coping strategies and parent–child communication may be promising factors to focus on in interventions aimed at preventing the development of internalising problems by adolescents who have a parent with mental illness. (Edited publisher abstract)
Children of mentally ill or addicted parents participating in preventive support groups
- Authors:
- SANTVOORT Floor van, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 15(4), 2013, pp.198-213.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The large number of children with mentally ill or addicted parents calls for efficient provision of preventive support: interventions should be offered to children most at risk and attune to their risk levels and needs. This study provided insight in the (heterogeneous) needs of children participating in preventive support groups. Questionnaires were filled out by 170 children (8–12 years) and their ill parent on children's psychosocial problems, parental illness-related cognitions and various risk factors. Outcomes show that 55.7% of the children had clinical psychosocial problems, 13.3% had subclinical problems and 31% functioned relatively well. Eighty-three percent experienced multiple risk factors. A linear cumulative relation was found between the number of risk factors and intensity of child problems. Children were classified into four risk profiles according to their own functioning and family risk level. The heterogeneity in the support group participants might call for interventions of different intensity and content. (Publisher abstract)