Help-seeking experiences of adoptive parents Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Adoptive parents’ experiences of seeking mental health care for children adopted from the care system: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study.
IRAS ID
141241
Contact name
Louise Maria Brittenden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leicestershire Partnership Trust
Research summary
How do adoptive parents experience seeking help for the mental health needs of children adopted from the care system?
Whilst government policy is actively encouraging more children to be adopted from care, there is increasing concern that the mental health needs of this vulnerable group of children are being overlooked. These older children are more likely to have experienced early adversity including, abuse, neglect and multiple foster homes, prior to their adoptive placement.
Previous research has focused on quantifying risk factors and mental health outcomes for children adopted from care but offers limited insight into the lived experiences of adoptive parents and the potential barriers to accessing mental health care for this vulnerable group of children. This project aims to explore in depth what it is like to be an adoptive parent seeking help for their child’s emotional and behavioural difficulties. The study will use a qualitative approach to capture a rich interpretive account of how adoptive parents make sense of their help-seeking experiences.
Adoptive parents will be recruited over a six month period from a specialist mental health adoption service in Leicestershire. The main care-giver be invited to participate in a single face to face interview to reflect upon their experiences of seeking help for their child’s mental health difficulties. Interviews will last approximately one hour, will be audio recorded and then analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis(IPA), to identify important themes.
The data collected will provide evidence to support future service development and organisation of resources to benefit adoptive parents and children adopted from the care system. The interpretive account of how adoptive parents experience the help-seeking process will be utilised by clinicians to inform and develop their practice so that the needs of this particular group of service users can be addressed in a more timely and targeted manner.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/0007
Date of REC Opinion
14 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion