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

  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.

• REC name

  Wales REC 4

• REC reference

  21/WA/0345

• Date of REC Opinion

  25 Nov 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion