Parental Mental Health Problems and the Risk of Child Maltreatment: The Potential Role of Psychotherapy

Lopes, Ana Isabel; Leal, João; Sani, Ana Isabel

doi:10.3390/soc11030108

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Guided by the saturation effect, it allowed for an in-depth understanding of this population's lived experiences from a phenomenological perspective. Nevertheless, these findings are in line with other recent findings that studied the lives of children of a parent with mental illness where disrupted communication, daily functioning, and judgment can lead to behavioral adversities, neglect, and abuse (Brockington et al, 2011;Cramm et al, 2022;Lopes et al, 2021;McCormack et al, 2017;Reupert et al, 2021). These suggest that regardless of the severity of the parental mental illness, its impact on the children's lives is profound.…”

Section: A Traumatic Childhoodsupporting

confidence: 90%

Lived experiences: Growing up with a seriously mentally ill parent

Shestiperov,

Grinstein‐Cohen,

Lindell

et al. 2024

J of Nursing Scholarship

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IntroductionIndividuals with serious mental illness often have persistent and disruptive symptoms. These can profoundly affect their children's lives, exposing them to adverse social and psychological conditions. Such conditions can result in traumatic lived experiences during childhood, which can carry over into adulthood, influencing their self‐perceptions and shaping their attitudes toward themselves and society. To gain insights into this phenomenon, this study explored the lived experiences of adults who grew up with a parent with serious mental illness and their perceptions of their lives in adulthood.DesignThis study used an interpretive phenomenological design.MethodsParticipants were invited to voluntarily participate in the study through a call posted on social media. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 30 adults (age range, 20–55 years) who grew up with a parent with serious mental illness. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and inductive thematic analysis was used to identify main and overarching themes.ResultsThe overarching theme of transition from childhood survival to adulthood survival emerged and included four main themes: (1) a traumatic childhood, (2) perceived control, (3) resilience and general self‐efficacy, and (4) adult quality of life. A traumatic childhood consisted of experiences of neglect and abuse, while participants used perceived control to achieve personal growth, self‐care, and care of others. Resilience and general self‐efficacy emerged during the transition to adulthood and helped participants further their social status and strengthen family bonds. Lastly, adult quality of life was described as being disturbed by feelings of loneliness and being burdensome, stemming from an inherent tendency to rely solely on themselves, leading to trust issues and mental health complications. Therefore, these adults found it difficult to reach out and get help or treatment for their concerns, as they initially did not want to appear dysfunctional or in need.ConclusionThis study has illuminated the lived experiences of a specific, vulnerable population that has not been intentionally explored until now. To delve into these experiences, we employed a distinctive qualitative approach, merging the interpretive phenomenological perspective with an inductive thematic analysis. This allowed for rich insight with a relatively large group of participants and enabled an in‐depth exploration within this methodological framework. Consequently, this study constitutes a notable contribution to the extant body of knowledge, exploring the intricacies of personal growth and its impact on participants' quality of life. It uncovers the essence of resilience and general self‐efficacy, revealing how these elements intertwine with the negative results observed. However, the study findings emphasize the need for healthcare professionals, including nurses and other caregivers, to be mindful of the long‐lasting effects of the adverse experiences of children of patients with serious mental illness. Prioritizing active clinical assessment and implementing tailored interventions to address such children's specific needs and difficulties across different developmental stages is imperative. Such comprehensive and targeted approaches are crucial in providing appropriate support and promoting the well‐being of these individuals.Clinical RelevanceEnhanced clinical attention in holistic psychiatric care is crucial for individuals and their relatives, especially children. Comprehensive assessments of children and adults raised by seriously mentally ill parents can enable tailored and preventive interventions, positively impacting overall quality of life.

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Section: A Traumatic Childhoodsupporting

confidence: 90%

Lived experiences: Growing up with a seriously mentally ill parent

Shestiperov,

Grinstein‐Cohen,

Lindell

et al. 2024

J of Nursing Scholarship

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Self-report studies can raise issues concerning the bias of answers due to fear of exposure, distortion of events experienced, issues of understanding, or even social acceptability. It is also expected that children's perceptions are subject to interference from other factors that were not assessed in this study (e.g., single, multiple, or multi-victimisation; quality of parental support, sociocultural issues), which may affect the results presented (Lopes et al, 2021;Martinelli, 2020;Sani et al, 2021). The use of more instruments should allow for a better characterisation of the relevant familiar reality of these children.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Children Exposed to Interparental Violence: A Study of Portuguese Children from 7-9 Years of Age

Almeida¹,

Gonçalves²,

Sani³

2022

Sumapsi

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Introduction: Exposure to interparental violence is a type of child maltreatment linked to a higher risk of physical and mental health problems. This research considers the experiences of young Portuguese children exposed to interparental violence. The goal is to explore the associations between interparental conflict in children, their perceptions of conflict properties, threat, self-blame, and the relationship with their parents. Method: The research protocol was applied to 888 Portuguese children between 7 and 9 years of age, of whom 123 are victims of interparental violence. Results: The results showed that witnessing interparental conflict is positively correlated with children’s self-blame and insight into conflict properties and negatively correlated with children’s insight into the parent-child relationship. Conclusion: These results provide strong support for the hypothesis that witnessing interparental conflict is associated with adverse outcomes in young children. Findings highlight the importance of identifying children exposed to interparental conflict in order to develop appropriate intervention programmes.

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“…The symptoms and cognitive impairment of parental SPMI can create difficulties in maternal-child interactions, household chores, and childcare [ 9 – 13 ]. Parental SPMI is a risk factor for child maltreatment [ 14 ]. Programs supporting parents with SPMI have been developed, and several systematic and scoping review articles have been published on these programs [ 15 – 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized controlled study of an e-learning program (YURAIKU-PRO) for public health nurses to support parents with severe and persistent mental illness and their family members

et al. 2022

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Background Supporting parents with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) requires knowledge, skills, and a positive attitude toward parenthood. We developed a Japanese e-learning program for public health nurses (PHNs) to enable them to support parents with SPMI and their family members. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and self-efficacy of PHNs in supporting them. Methods A three-hour video-based e-learning program was developed. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 176 PHNs responsible for maternal and child health in Japan. The outcome measures included the Sense of Coping Difficulty/Possibility Scale, skills to support people with SPMI, and achievement of program goals. Outcome data were collected at three time points during the study: baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and one month after T2 (T3) using self-administered electronic questionnaires. Outcome measures were assessed by comparing the two groups at the endpoint (T3) using t-tests and ANOVA. Effectiveness over time was assessed using a mixed model for repeated measures, with group and time interactions as fixed effects. Results The study participants were randomly allocated to two groups:89 in the intervention group, and 87 in the control group. The total score and the scores in the two subscales of the Sense of Coping Difficulty/Possibility Scale in the intervention group at T3 were significantly higher than those in the control group, as shown by the t-test and ANOVA (all p<0.001). The Sense of Coping Difficulty subscale had a large effect size (Cohen’s d=1.27). The analysis of the results of a mixed model for repeated measures showed that the group and time interactions on all outcome measures were not significantly different at T1 but were significantly different at T2 and T3. Conclusions The program was effective one month after its completion, particularly in reducing PHNs’ difficulties in supporting parents with SPMI. Trial registration UMIN000045765, November 1, 2021.

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Parental Mental Health Problems and the Risk of Child Maltreatment: The Potential Role of Psychotherapy

Cited by 8 publications

References 54 publications

Lived experiences: Growing up with a seriously mentally ill parent

Lived experiences: Growing up with a seriously mentally ill parent

Children Exposed to Interparental Violence: A Study of Portuguese Children from 7-9 Years of Age

A randomized controlled study of an e-learning program (YURAIKU-PRO) for public health nurses to support parents with severe and persistent mental illness and their family members

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