Multifamily prevention approach for children and adolescents of parents with mental disorders

Abstract

Introduction: 32% of children whose parents have mental condition are estimated to be diagnosed with some mental disorder later in life. As a consequence, a need arises to offer preventive psychological interventions aimed at these children. This article presents the results obtained after implementing the Kidstime programme. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there are significant changes before and after the intervention and to establish participants´ degree of satisfaction with the program. Material and Methods: A design of repeated measures of pre-test and post-test intervention was used. 65 people participated in the program and pre-intervention and post-intervention data were obtained from 40 people through the following questionnaires: Self-Stigma Questionnaire (SSQ), Rosenberg´s self-esteem scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Parenting Practices Inventory (IPC), and strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). At the end of every workshop, a satisfaction survey was completed by children and adults, getting a total of 173 surveys. Results: Significant pre-post differences were found in the "involvement" and "expression of affection" subscales of the Parenting Patterns Inventory, as well as in children's "prosocial behavior" measured with the SDQ and in patients' self-stigma. There was no difference after intervention on other parameters. Conclusions: Kidstime program have shown to be effective in enhancing parents' emotional support for their children, improving children's prosocial behavior, and reducing patients´ stigma. It is believed that the resilience of children whose parents have mental issues can be fostered through this type of multidisciplinary, psycho-educational, playful intervention, which addresses parenting skills.