Parental attitude toward children's mental disorders and its relationship with help seeking behaviors

A Systematic Review of Parents' Mental Health Literacy Programs: Examining Program Effectiveness and Parent Satisfaction

Current estimates suggest that nearly one in five youth in the United States have a clinically significant mental health problem. Many of these youth do not receive services, and if they do, they are often not evidence-based treatments. Parents are critical to the utilization of psychological services for youth; they are typically considered the gatekeepers to mental health services and frequently initiate help-seeking on behalf of their youth. Research has demonstrated that parents do not have sufficient knowledge and skills needed to handle youth mental health problems (i.e., mental health literacy), which likely contributes to the youth treatment disparity. To address this, the current systematic review explored global mental health literacy programs for parents to examine program effectiveness and parent satisfaction with programs. Nine programs were identified and described in terms of structure, content, and delivery method. Several programs demonstrated improvement in at least one component of parents' mental health literacy. Additionally, when assessed, parent satisfaction was generally positive, though areas for improvement were noted (e.g., program content lacked specificity, need for more practical parenting skills). Overall, findings have meaningful implications for future research and program development.

Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

This paper explored the gender differences in the attitudes of parents toward taking care of their adult daughters or sons with schizophrenia, and focused on how parents define and think about the roles of their children, and how they cope with fulfilling the expected roles.

METHODS

Qualitative research design and purpose sampling were used to enroll parents who had adult patients with schizophrenia at a medical center in central Taiwan. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and content analysis was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Seven main themes emerged from the data provided by ten parents living with adult children with schizophrenia. Three themes that focused on gender difference are listed: parents continue to expect their sons with schizophrenia to carry on the family name; society as a whole expects males to be the "head of the family"; male family members are supposed to assume the responsibility of caring for siblings with schizophrenia.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the study could help clinical professionals to understand and have greater empathy with regard to the difficulties for families and the concerns of parents taking care of their children with schizophrenia in the specific context of Chinese culture, and to provide more efficient and responsive assistance.

Parental Support, Beliefs about Mental Illness, and Mental Help-Seeking among Young Adults in Saudi Arabia

Mental illness is not uncommon among young adults, but negative attitudes towards mental disorders and lack of parental support might be associated with hesitancy in seeking professional help. This study aimed to examine the relationships of parental support, beliefs about mental illness, and mental help-seeking among young adults in Saudi Arabia. This quantitative cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 236 young adults (ages 18-25) with the majority of the total (86.4%) being female. Data were collected via three self-administered questionnaires: The Perceived Parental Support Scale, Beliefs toward Mental Illness scale, and Mental Help Seeking Attitude Scale. Results indicated that the participants had a moderately negative attitude toward mental illness, a moderately positive attitude toward parental support, and a highly positive attitude toward mental help-seeking. No significant relationships were found among the study variables. The study highlights that despite young adults' positive attitude toward mental help-seeking and parental support, they have negative views toward people with mental illnesses. Educational programs in schools and media are needed to improve attitudes and enhance readiness to interact with people with mental illness.