Learning from research processes and dilemmas: young people’s experience of parental mental illness

Abstract

The effects of parental mental illness on children have been extensively studied. Much of the literature is about adverse effects of parental mental illness on children. A number of studies investigated the association between parental illness and presence of problems in children using quantitative methods. The meanings young people attach to their parents' symptoms or behaviour might also influence their need for information. Young people's need for information could be influenced by external factors, such as their care-taking role and the availability of support. Most of the participants described in detail how they developed the knowledge of their parents' illness through experience and observations, but the extent to which they were shared with and validated by their parents or professionals seemed to vary. The participants' views about the impact of their parents' illness ranged from short- and long-term serious consequences to little impact.