Aims: Caring for a child with emotional and/or behavioural problems can cause considerable stress for parents, which can in turn impact adversely on parent-child relationships. A difficult family environment increases the risk of negative outcomes for both children and their parents, and plays a key role in the evolution and recurrence of psychotic symptoms. This study will examine the applicability of a cognitive model of caregiving to a group of parents of clinically referred children, and associations between the family environment and severity of Psychotic-Like Experiences (PLEs). Method: Parents (or those in loco parentis; n=44) of clinically referred children were interviewed using standardised measures, to examine their coping strategies, threat appraisals, mood, social support, child difficulties and levels of expressed emotion (EE). Children were also asked to self-report their difficulties (PLEQ and SDQ). Results: Parents reported high levels of depression and anxiety, which were predicted by their threat appraisals about their children’s problems, and were associated with less adaptive coping, less social support, and more threatening appraisals. Parent mood predicted EE in the parent-child relationship, and was significantly correlated with higher reports of child emotional and behavioural difficulties. Child-reported difficulties were not associated with parent factors. Conclusion: Findings support the application of the cognitive model of caregiving to parents of clinically referred children, and suggest novel parent-focused interventions to reduce caregiver distress. Such interventions would also have the potential to reduce the future risk of mental health problems for both children and their parents.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:634142 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Tobin, Claire |
| Publisher | King's College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/caregiving-relationships-in-families-of-children-with-psychoticlike-experiences(dec4f259-26cd-4665-acd7-b59a622ec86a).html |
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