Children of Mothers Admitted to Psychiatric Hospital: Care Arrangements and Mothers' Perceptions

Abstract

This paper describes the care arrangements made for children when their mothers are admitted to psychiatric hospital. It also describes at admission, and at 3 months follow‐up, the views and opinions of mothers and carers with regard to the admission, its impact on the family, and the service received. It was found that children are predominantly cared for within their family when their mother is admitted to hospital, and that mothers and carers are concerned about the impact of the admission and its associated problems.

U.S. Caregivers with Mental Health Problems: Parenting Experiences and Children's Functioning

“…Although addressing caregiver mental health problems can improve children’s outcomes (Weissman, Pilowsky, Wickramaratne, et al, 2006), less than half of parents with mental health problems receive treatment (Libby, Orton, Barth, et al, 2006; Staudt & Cherry, 2009). Furthermore, families with mental health problems lack adequate support and access to services (Cunningham, Oyebode, & Vostanis, 2000; Mowbray, Lewandowski, Bybee, & Oyserman, 2004; Ostman & Hansson, 2002), and experience structural problems, such as poverty, housing instability, and other barriers to children’s educational attainment (Reupert & Maybery, 2007), all of which are associated with poor functional outcomes for families.…”