Parents who experience mental health concerns might at times be unable to parent, or be hospitalised, thus separated from their children. At these times others have to take over, often the other parent or someone in the extended family. I am interested in research investigating their experiences. Also, what terms are used in the literature when referring to these 'alternative/additional carers'?
Dear Lizelott,
Check this link out:
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/secure-attachment/attachment-issues-and-reactive-attachment-disorders.htm
Dear Lizette,
These resources may interest you:
- FAMILIES LIVING WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS: A LITERATURE REVIEW
- The Effects of Parental Mental Illness on Children: Pathways to Risk to Resilience from Infancy to Adulthood
- Caring for the family caregivers of persons with mental illness
http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/321646/research_parentalmentalhealth.pdf
https://www.uwgb.edu/bhtp/tools/critical_issues.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4181176/
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77750/lslomins_1.pdf
Article Children's experiences of parental mental illness: A literature review
There is also literature on young carers and young adult carers:
http://www.qni.org.uk/docs/Young_Carers_Lit_Review.pdf
Becker, F. and Becker, S. (2008) Young Adult Carers in the UK: Experiences, Needs and Services for carers aged 16-24. The Princes Royal Trust for Carers. London.
Seeman, M.V.: The changing role of mother of the mentally ill: From schizophrenogenic mother to multigenerational caregiver. Psychiatry 72(3):284-294 (2009).
doi:10.1521/psyc.2009.72.3.284 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19821650
Cowling, V., Göpfert, M., Seeman, M.V.: Grandparents. COPMI GEMS. Edition 9. April 2010. http://www.copmi.net.au/gems/index.html
Cowling, V., Seeman, M.V., Göpfert, M.J.: Grandparents as primary caregivers. Parental Psychiatric Disorder: Distressed Parents and their Families. 3rd Ed Andrea Reupert, Darryl Maybery, Joanne Nicholson, Michael Göpfert, Mary V. Seeman (eds.), Ch. 23. Cambridge University Press. 2015. pp.248-258.
http://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/medicine/mental-health-psychiatry-and-clinical-psychology/parental-psychiatric-disorder-distressed-parents-and-their-families-3rd-edition?format=HB
Research in this area is difficult because the number of variables I that must be considered is so large. If grandparents are the care providers, then for how long each day do they provide care? How long have the children had loving or uncomfortable experiences with he providers? How physically and emotionally capable are the new providers? Is the new provider's home situation more chaotic or more organized ,l more loving and safer than the child's initial situation prior to a parent's becoming unable to care for the child? Is the new provider reluctant or tenderly happy to be helping with child care? There are so many variable to consider and document in this research field. For example one grandmother I interviewed confided how many tantrums her grandchild has. Yet she tries to be loving and calm. However, mom works long hours as a single parent and the child, when at the co-parent's home on weekend visits, is subject to verbal scolding and threats by the new partner of the co-parent. The grandmother is eager for counseling ideas, but the stresses on this child are so severe and the child is so young.. Thus, a very large research sample would be needed in order to carry out research on alternate providers when a parent is unavailable, disabled ,or perhaps suddenly hospitalized or in jail . So the suddenness and the circumstances of the need for a new provider are important also to consider. .
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