Good days and bad days: The experiences of children of a parent with a psychiatric disability.

Abstract

Twenty-two children, ages 5 to 17, described their experiences living within a family that included a parent with a psychiatric disability who was involved in community mental health agency services. The children's descriptions of parents' "good days" and "bad days" were captured in a secondary data analysis of a study that included face-to-face children's interviews. Children also discussed their perceptions of psychiatric disabilities and rehabilitation. Children reported more attention from parents on "good days." They expressed concerns about multiple family stressors and bias associated with psychiatric disability. They had little information about psychiatric disabilities and/or rehabilitation. Children recommended "Get help earlier."

Can I Tell Just by Myself? Discussing a Parental Mental Disorder With a Child in a Research Interview

“…To achieve this end, the most obvious action is to conceal the parental situation (see also Oskouie et al, 2011). Furthermore, research shows that in seeking to guard a family secret, children often isolate themselves psychologically from others (Riebschleger, 2004;Chan & Ying, 2010;Chang & Horrocks, 2006). The present analysis also showed how the interviewer participated in the management of Tanja's associative stigma and in presenting herself as a non-deviant young person.…”

“…As in a growing number of qualitative studies (e.g., Riebschleger, 2004;Aldridge, 2006;Mordoch & Hall, 2008;Östman, 2008;Backer, 2011;Oskouie, Zeighami, & Joolaee, 2011), our focus was on children's views of their parent's problem. In the interviews, all the children, without being asked, reported feelings of shame about their parent's problem, thereby demonstrating their awareness of the stigma attached to mental health disorders.…”

“…Pihkala, Sandlund, and Cederström (2012) also report that children experience a sense of relief after gaining more knowledge about a parental mental problem. Thus, it seems to be important for children to acquire information, and to be able to communicate about parental mental problems (Focht-Birkerts & Beardslee, 2000;Riebschleger, 2004;Stallard et al, 2004). …”

Mental Health Literacy for Children with a Parent with a Mental Illness

“…5 Within the family, children living with a parent with a mental illness describe having "good days" and "bad days". 6 On good days, when parents are functioning better, children report their family members are more likely to talk to each other positively, interact more, and have a meal together. On bad days, when parents experience higher levels of mental health symptoms, children report less family communication, more negativity (such as yelling), and less interaction (avoiding/ignoring each other).…”

Réflexion sur les services aux familles dont la mère souffre d’un trouble de santé mentale (TSM)

“…Trois grandes catégories de facteurs augmenteraient la résilience des enfants dont un parent souffre d'un TSM : l'humeur de l'enfant, l'environnement familial et la présence d'un soutien externe à la famille (Garley et al, 1997 ;Guedeney, 1998). Les chercheurs suggèrent les orientations suivantes : favoriser l'expression des sentiments et la compréhension de la maladie, et la discussion avec le conjoint et les enfants (Focht-Birkerts et Beardslee, 2000 ;Pitman et Matthey, 2004 ;Riebschleger, 2004) ; favoriser une plus grande cohésion familiale et le développement d'un réseau social et de soutien (Cyrulnik, 2002 ;Garley et al, 1997 ;Guedeney, 1998) ; mettre en place des groupes de soutien pour les conjoints (Davey et al, 2006) et, valider les forces maternelles (Oyserman et al, 1994 ;Oyserman et al, 2000). D'autres auteurs soulignent le besoin de collaboration ou d'intégration des services destinés aux adultes et aux enfants, le développement de liens avec les services communautaires et la mise en place d'interventions précoces en période prénatale (Pomerleau et al, 2000 ;Stallard et al, 2004) et à long terme (Brunette et Dean, 2002).…”