Children who have parents with serious mental illness e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder Mental and Behavioural Disorders Children who have parents with serious mental illness e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
Conditions
Interventions
Following consent to participate, families are randomly allocated to one of two groups.
Intervention group: The proposed intervention, called YoungSMILES (Simplifying Mental Illness +
how to manage our feelings of fear in times of uncertainty
what to do when we think our parent is going into crisis etc, etc. The facilitators will then elicit the group members’ ideas about what they would like to learn or achieve during the session, or anxi
videos, play, creative writing, case studies, scenarios and discussions, to meet the learning objectives of the session.
5. “Wrapping-up” with feedback on the session, recap of the mai
Sponsors
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Children: 1. Children aged between 6 and 16 years with parents diagnosed with serious mental illness 2. Have at least 10 hours contact with the parent/carer with serious mental illness. (The children do not necessarily have to live with a mentally ill parent) 3. The children have some awareness of the parent’s mental illness, confirmed by the parent and/or the appropriate care coordinator. If the children have no awareness of the parent’s illness, it will be discussed how the parent and care coordinator can prepare the children before they start group work. Parents: 1. Parents/carers with serious mental illness and their partners who may or may not have any mental health problems. The focus of our project is the children and their outcomes, rather than the parents. Therefore, we do not intend to carry out full clinical interviews with the parents and report diagnostic codes. We shall accept the primary and secondary diagnoses reported by a key health professional, such as the GP, care coordinator and key worker, as most of these parents are likely to receive secondary care or be monitored in primary care. This can be gleaned during referral into the study or, in the case of a self-referral by the parent, we shall obtain the diagnosis by contacting the parent’s appropriate care coordinator, e.g. GP or CPN, following the parent’s permission to do so. 2. The parents/carers/guardians understand the purpose and remit of the intervention for themselves and their children and consent to their child’s attendance and completion of outcome measures and interviews.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Children: 1. Children of parents diagnosed with common mental health problems (e.g. mild-moderate depression) or with primary substance misuse, rather than with a serious mental illness as defined in the inclusion criterion 1 above 2. The children have significant cognitive impairment or a learning disability or major mental illness or behavioural problems (as verified by their GP or other health professionals involved in the family’s care) which will make it impossible or unsafe for them to participate in group work 3. The children have already participated in Family SMILES (which is not applicable in the North East where Family SMILES is not available) Parents: The parent is extremely unwell at the time of eligibility assessment, which makes it difficult or unsafe for them to participate in group or individual work.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Child psychopathology and prosocial behaviour is measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 2. Symptoms of common mental health problems are captured using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 3. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is measured using The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PEDQL) and KIDSCREEN questionnaire at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 4. Parenting competencies are assessed using the Arnold-O’Leary Parenting Scale at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 5. The degree and cause of stress in a parent-child relationship is measured using the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 6. Children’s knowledge and perceptions about serious mental illness (mental health literacy) is measured using the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHLq) with follow-up questions at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 7. Resource use will be assessed using the Child and Adolescent Service Use Schedule (CA-SUS) at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 8. Incremental health gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) is estimated using the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D) at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months 9. Qualitative evaluation of the intervention is completed through interviews and focus groups with children, parents and practitioners at 3 months | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| No secondary outcome measures | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Contacts
Public ContactJudith Gellatly
Outcome results
None listed