Review2011

Children's experiences of parental mental illness: a literature review

Brenda Gladstone · Katherine Boydell · Mary V. Seeman · Patricia D. McKeever

162 citations0/0 files storedEarly Intervention in Psychiatry

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Family Support in Illness Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Family Caregiving in Mental Illness

Abstract

AIM: This paper provides a review of published qualitative research on children's experiences of parental mental illness. METHODS: We undertook a comprehensive search of Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Sociological Abstracts and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts databases, as well as citation searches in Web of Science and manual searches of other relevant journals and reference lists of primary papers. RESULTS: Although 20 studies met the search criteria, only 10 focused exclusively on children's descriptions of their experience--the remainder elicited adults' perspectives on children's experiences of parental mental illnesses. Findings are organized under three themes: the impact of illness on children's daily life, how children cope with their experiences and how children understand mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: Despite references to pervasive knowledge gaps in the literature, significant information has been accumulated about children's experiences of parental mental illness. Considerable variability in research findings and tensions remain unresolved. For example, evidence is mixed as to children's knowledge and understanding of mental illnesses and how best to deploy resources to help them acquire optimal information. Furthermore, children's desire to be recognized as important to their parents' well-being conflicted with adults' perceptions that children should be protected from too much responsibility. Nevertheless, the cumulative evidence remains a key reason for advocating for psychoeducation and peer-support group interventions for children, which are endorsed by child and adult study participants alike.

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References

2006Using thematic analysis in psychology 2008Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews 2001Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research 2009Qualitative methods for health research 2005Synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence: A review of possible methods 2006Conducting a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature on access to healthcare by vulnerable groups 2005Systematically reviewing qualitative and quantitative evidence to inform management and policy-making in the health field 1998Children of Affectively Ill Parents: A Review of the Past 10 Years

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