Search results for ‘Subject term:"parental mental health"’ Sort:
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Overview report: serious case review in respect of a child: BDS 10
- Author:
- FEW Chris
- Publisher:
- Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 77
- Place of publication:
- Matlock
A serious case review of the circumstances surrounding the death of child BDS on 11 June 2010. He was pronounced dead by clinicians shortly after his arrival at the hospital due to stab wounds. Both his parents had also been found dead and an inquest found that BDS and his mother had been unlawfully killed and that his father had taken his own life. Father had a history of depression, which dated back to at least 1999 when he attempted suicide. In May 2010 he was arrested because of death threats he made to mother and subsequently released. The review identifies key learning themes around: focus on the child; mental health; support for carers; risk assessment; response to domestic abuse incidents involving children; and information management. (Edited publisher abstract)
The impact of maternal depression in young children
- Authors:
- COX A.D., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28(6), 1987, pp.917-928.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Describes a comparative study in an urban setting.
Using the Assessment Framework to measure parental mood: an investigation of the reliability of the Adult Well-Being Scale
- Authors:
- PEPPING Christopher A., DAWE Sharon, HARNETT Paul H.
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 21(1), 2016, pp.44-54.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The adoption of evidence-based practice in social work has been widely promoted in recent years and with this, a growing emphasis on the evaluation of practice using well-validated and reliable measurement processes. The Department of Health's ‘Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families’ in the UK includes quantitative measures that form part of a systematic assessment of the needs of children and their families that includes assessment of parenting capacity and parental emotional state. The measure selected to assess parental mood was originally known as the Irritability, Depression and Anxiety Scale, and has been renamed within the Assessment Framework as the Adult Well-Being Scale. This instrument is designed to assess depression, anxiety, and inward and outward irritability. However, there has been relatively little contemporary evaluation of the reliability and validity of the measure, and the extent to which it measures the four constructs it is designed to assess. This research therefore conducted extensive analyses of the reliability, validity and underlying factor structure of the Adult Well-Being Scale. The four subscales did not demonstrate sound psychometric properties. At best a total score may be used as an indicator of ‘overall psychological distress’. (Publisher abstract)
Keeping the child in mind: child protection practice and parental mental health
- Authors:
- JEFFREYS Helen, ROGERS Nancy, HIRTE Craig
- Publisher:
- Government of South Australia. Department for Families and Communities
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 57p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Adelaide
The association between adult mental health disorders and child abuse and neglect has been well documented. This study sought to identify the numbers of substantiated child abuse and neglect cases in South Australia where parental mental health difficulties are identified as a significant risk factor. It also aimed to examine how child protection workers identify parental mental health disorders, what they classify as such, and how this impacts upon their decision-making. The study was undertaken in 3 stages: analysis of administrative data relating to cases of child abuse and neglect from a statutory child protection agency (Families SA, Department for Families and Communities); in-depth analysis of 30 randomly selected cases, through interviews with the Families SA caseworker; and focus groups with Families SA’s Psychological and Anti-Poverty Services. The results suggested that parental mental health difficulties are likely to be present in approximately half of all substantiated cases of abuse and neglect. Most parents presented with borderline personality disorder or low intensity depression. These parents typically did not have a formal clinical diagnosis and were not connected with adult mental health services. The impact of these mental health difficulties on their parenting skills, engagement with caseworkers, and decision making of the caseworkers is discussed.
Caregiver mental health, neighborhood, and social network influences on Mental Health needs among African American children
- Authors:
- LINDSEY Michael A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 32(2), June 2008, pp.79-88.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
In this study, the authors examined the combined effects of caregiver mental health, alcohol use, and social network support/satisfaction on child mental health needs among African American caregiver-child dyads at risk of maltreatment. The sample included 514 eight-year-old African American children and their caregivers who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. A structural equation model was created with caregiver mental health/alcohol use and caregiver social network support/satisfaction as the exogenous variables and child mental health need as the endogenous variable. Caregivers with less-supportive networks and whose capacity to parent was challenged by alcohol, depression, or other mental health problems had children with elevated mental health needs. These findings confirm the need to examine the effects of caregiver influences (for example, caregiver mental health and social network support/satisfaction) on mental health among African American children at risk of maltreatment and to further explain how the social networks of caregivers are accessed when caregivers and children have mental health problems. Implications for identifying mental health needs among this vulnerable group and improving their connections to formal mental health services through social network-level interventions are discussed.
Parenting well when you're depressed: a complete resource for maintaining a healthy family
- Authors:
- NICHOLSON Joanne, et al
- Publisher:
- New Harbinger
- Publication year:
- 2001
- Pagination:
- 234p.,list of orgs.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Oakland
According to the 1999 U.S. Surgeon Generals' Report on Mental Health almost one quarter of women and fifteen percent of men suffer from some kind of mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder. The majority of these men and women are also parents and there is a significant body of research that says children can be affected by their parents' depression. The most noticeable effect of parental depression is a lack of response by parents to their children, coupled with general feelings of sadness and irritability. A group of practitioners and researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, representing several disciplines including psychology, occupational therapy, psychiatric rehabilitation, and counselling have produced a self-help resource guide aimed at these parents. The resource guide opens with a self-assessment questionnaire that enables the reader to identify their strengths and which areas need working on. The reader can then either read the book from cover to cover or go straight to which chapters are most relevant to their needs. Areas covered by the resource guide include: mood management; balancing work and parenting; managing household finances; family safety; communicating with children about depression; play and recreation; self-advocacy; the legal system, and; contact with children when they with live with others.
Role of family stressors on rural low-income children's behaviors
- Authors:
- GREDER Kimberly A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Youth Care Forum, 46(5), 2017, pp.703-720.
- Publisher:
- Springer
Background: Exposure to multiple stressors and lack of access to resources place rural children at high risk for adverse consequences. Family Stress Model guided this study to examine relations between two stressors- food insecurity and maternal depressive symptoms, and behaviour problems among younger and older rural children. Objective: To test associations between food insecurity, maternal depressive symptoms, and behaviour problems among younger and older rural low-income children. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 370 low-income rural families across 13 states was analysed using structural equation modelling and multiple group analyses. Mothers’ education level, household income, marital/partner status, and participation in SNAP served as covariates. Results: Among younger children, maternal depressive symptoms partially mediated the relation between food insecurity and child externalising behaviours, while among older children, maternal depressive symptoms completely mediated the relation between food insecurity and child internalising and externalising behaviours. Conclusions: Stress manifested directly from, or indirectly through, maternal depressive symptoms and from food insecurity was related to behaviour problems among younger and older rural children; however, the relations varied by age of children. Programmes and policies that prevent or lessen both food insecurity and maternal depression may help to lessen problem behaviours among on rural children. Longitudinal studies are needed to rigorously examine causation and directionality among food insecurity, maternal depression and rural child behaviour problems, while accounting for influences of child, caregiver and family characteristics. (Edited publisher abstract)
Missed opportunities: mental disorder in children of parents with depression
- Authors:
- POTTER Robert, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of General Practice, 62(600), July 2012, pp.360-361.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of General Practitioners
Research indicates that a quarter of children with a parent with depression have mental health problems, but about two-thirds of them are not in contact with any services. Evidence suggests that early intervention and prevention programmes are important for this group of patients but they are difficult to implement if the children are not identified and are not accessing services, even if their parents are known to primary care. A total of 333 families were recruited in which at least one parent had received treatment for recurrent depression and had a child aged 9-17 years. Parents and children were assessed using research diagnostic interviews. The service-use interview recorded current (in the past 3 months) and lifetime contact with health, educational, and social services due to concerns about the child's emotions or behaviour. Only 37% of children who met criteria for psychiatric disorder were in contact with any service at the time of interview. A third, who were suicidal or self-harming and had a psychiatric disorder at that time, were not in contact with any service. Lack of parental worry predicted lower service use, with higher rates in children with comorbidity and suicidality. The authors stress the importance of improving ease of access to services, and increasing parental and professional awareness that mental health problems can cluster in families.
Safety, feasibility and family experiences of preventive interventions for children and families with parental depression
- Authors:
- SOLANTAUS Tytti, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 11(4), November 2009, pp.15-24.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Depression is frequent among parents, and children with depressed parents have an elevated risk for psychiatric disorders. This report describes and details one phase of the development and implementation of a country-wide preventive programme for children of parents with depression in Finland. This national effort first focused on developing programmes for children with depressed parents, and was later expanded to include families with parents who have a variety of mental and other health conditions. Using a sample of 119 single and dual parent families, the preventive interventions aims were ‘to support positive self-understanding in the parents’, ‘to support mutual understanding in the family’, ‘to support positive parenting’, ‘to support future orientation in the family’, and ‘to identify children who need additional services’. Concluding that parents in treatment for depression are relieved if they are offered opportunities to discuss their children and learn how to support them, despite depression, and that clinicians in psychiatric services to adults can be trained to conduct discussions about parenting and children, the authors demonstrate that child-centred preventive interventions can be carried out in real-life conditions in psychiatric services for adults.
Identifying and reducing barriers to reunification for seriously mentally ill parents involved in child welfare cases
- Authors:
- RISLEY-CURTISS Christina, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 85(1), January 2004, pp.107-118.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Forming judgments about parenting capacity, a necessary part of permanency planning, is much more difficult when the parent has a serious mental illness. The time necessary for effective treatment for such parents is often longer than the court-ordered time limit for family reunification. This puts mentally ill parents at a distinct disadvantage in their efforts to preserve their families. Using Arizona as an example, this article discusses the barriers in both child welfare and mental health systems to accurate and effective assessment and treatment. It presents recommendations for research and suggestions for child welfare personnel to enhance the potential for mentally ill parents to reunify with their children.