Psychosocial needs of the parents of children with mental disorder

Abstract

Background In addition to the major problems that a child with mental disorder, the family, and society are faced with, mental disorders in children cause several problems and care pressure on the parents in particular. While the parents suffer the highest damages by their child’ disease, they tend to hide their pains, sufferings, and needs from others. The present study is an attempt to elaborate on psychosocial needs in the parents of children with mental disorder. Methods The study was carried out as a qualitative study using content analysis method. To this end, 21 parents of children with mental disorder at age range 10-18 years took part in the study. The participants were selected through purposeful sampling and after signing an informed letter of consent, deep semi-structured interviews were conducted with them. The interviews were recorded with the consent of the participants and the data was analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results Analysis of the interviews revealed 302 codes, 16 subcategories, seven categories, and two themes. The theme “psychological needs” was comprised of categories the need for assurance, the need for emotional support, and the need for being accepted. The theme “social needs” was comprised of categories the need for social support, the need for welfare, the need for information support, and the need for family support. Conclusion Given the changes in their lives caused the disease of their children, parents of children with mental disorders deal with several needs and challenges. The needs categorized in mental and emotional fields and social and information supports were the main needs.