Young SMILES: An intervention for children with mentally ill parents
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Community-Based Intervention to Improve Health-Related Quality of Life in Children of Parents with Serious Mental Illness: Feasibility Study
IRAS ID
198409
Contact name
Kathryn Abel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN36865046
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
198409 , NIHR CSP Ref
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Many children grow up with a parent who is experiencing a mental illness. These may be mild, short-term illnesses that are easily treatable; however, some parental mental illness is severe and long-standing such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Studies have shown that children living or in regular contact with a parent with a severe mental illness, can be vulnerable to maltreatment, neglect and stigma and are at risk of developing mental health or behavioural problems, leading to a poor quality of life (QoL). Since 2011, the NSPCC has been providing and evaluating a programme called Family SMILES which aims to improve children’s self-esteem, enhance parents’ protective abilities and improve parent-child relationships.
This 3-year study builds on the NSPCC’s Family SMILES programme to produce an enhanced intervention, called Young SMILES, which aims to produce specific benefits for children’s health and functioning, and can be flexibly delivered within and outside NHS services. We will work with children and parents/carers with severe mental illness, adults who have grown up with mentally ill parents, health, social care, education and voluntary sector professionals to develop Young SMILES. Practitioners from the NHS, Social Care and the Voluntary Sector will deliver the intervention.
Sixty families from the North East of England and London will take part in a feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) over 12-months. Half will receive Young SMILES and half usual care. We will collect data at the start, 3 months (primary endpoint) and at 6 and 12 months follow-up, on children’s health-related QoL, mental health literacy and problem-solving, depression and anxiety, family functioning and parent-child relationship, health and social care use. We will look at recruitment rates, randomisation procedures, intervention adherence and drop-out, describe the outcomes and costs and identify the most appropriate way to carry out a future larger-scale RCT.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0207
Date of REC Opinion
13 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion