Children's Needs â Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...
Children's Needs â Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ... Children's Needs â Parenting Capacity - Digital Education Resource ...
Is concern justified? Problems of definition and prevalence 31a mental illness were more likely than those without to have no formal educationalqualifications and to come from social class V (unskilled, manual occupations) andbe economically inactive. Adults with mental health problems have the highestunemployment rates for any of the main groups of disabled people; only 21% areemployed (Office for National Statistics 2006b). The impact of class and poverty areexacerbated when adults are parents caring for children. ‘... among those with childrenat home, working-class women were four times more likely to suffer from a definitepsychiatric disorder’ than comparable middle-class women (Brown and Harris 1978,p.278).Vulnerability to mental disorders may be the result of adverse life events such aspoverty, poor environment, sexism or racism and other forms of social disadvantage(Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 2004; Ghate and Hazel 2002; Propperet al. 2004). For example, research based in 15 electoral wards in London found theincidence of schizophrenia in non-white minorities was related to the proportionof the ethnic minority living in the area; the smaller the minority group the greaterthe incidence of schizophrenia (Boydell et al. 2001). Of significance are individualexperiences, particularly those involving long-term threat (Brown and Harris 1978;Sheppard 1993).The picture is further clouded because mental illness is perceived differentlyby different cultural groups (NSPCC 1997a; Anglin et al 2006). For example,the literature seems to suggest that in some south Asian cultures mental illness isexpressed in terms of physiological ailments. As a result, symptoms may be reportedas problems requiring medical rather than psychiatric services. Likewise, in somecultures outside the Western world schizophrenia is interpreted as a possession ofthe sufferer by malevolent spirits, and the services of priests rather than doctors aresought (Littlewood and Lipsedge 1997).This cumulative body of evidence, although illustrating some of the difficultiesin assessing prevalence, suggests that a considerable number of children are living infamilies where at least one parent is suffering from a mental illness.Prevalence of parental mental illness:child protection studiesThe majority of parents who experience mental illness do not neglect or harm theirchildren simply as a consequence of the disorder (Tunnard 2004). Children becomemore vulnerable to abuse and neglect when parental mental illness coexists withother problems such as substance misuse, domestic violence or childhood abuse(Cleaver et al. 2007).Studies in the field of child protection suggest that the prevalence of identifiedmental illness, which in many cases exists alongside other parental difficulties,increases with the level of enquiry. At the referral stage prevalence is low. Cleaver and
32 Children’s Needs – Parenting CapacityWalker with Meadows’ (2004) study of 2,248 referrals to children’s social care found,on re-analysing their data, that parental mental illness was recorded in 10.4% ofreferrals, a finding similar to the 13% identified by Gibbons et al. (1995). However,prevalence increases with greater knowledge of the family circumstances. Followingan initial assessment, social workers recorded parental mental illness in 16.9% ofcases (Cleaver and Walker with Meadows 2004). When cases come under greaterscrutiny and a child protection conference is held, prevalence increases once again.Parental mental illness was identified in a quarter of cases coming to conference(Farmer and Owen 1995). There is a further rise in prevalence for children involvedin care proceedings. Parental mental illness had been noted in some 43% of caseswhere children are the subject of care proceedings (42% in Hunt et al. 1999; and43% in Brophy et al. 2003).Early research on child murder recorded particularly high rates of maternal mentalillness. Resnich’s (1969) review of 131 cases of parental child murder identified 71%of mothers as being depressed and Gibson’s (1975) study of maternal filicide noted90% of the mothers had a psychiatric disorder. More recent research into extremecases of child abuse tempers these findings, although there remains considerablevariation. Falkov’s (1996) study of fatal child abuse found 32% of parents had apsychiatric disorder, a finding similar to the rate (28%) identified in families subjectto serious case reviews during 2007–8 (Ofsted et al. 2008). However, this is likely tobe an underestimate. The analysis of an intensive sample of 40 serious case reviewsfound almost two-thirds (63%) of children lived in a household with a parent orcarer with current or past mental illness (Brandon et al. 2009 and 2010), a figurerather higher than the 43% found in Reder and Duncan’s 1999 study of fatal childabuse.The focus on mothers, common in much of the child protection research, mightsuggest that they are more prone to killing their children. However, filicide is notthe prerogative of mothers. Except for neonates, fathers and father figures are morelikely to murder a child in their care than are mothers (Marks and Kumar 1996;Stroud 1997; Cavanagh et al. 2007).Father admitted shaking the baby ... Both parents have a history of mental illness.Little known about family, but they have had frequent house moves and changesof name.(Brandon et al. 2008, p.46)Parental mental illness and type of child abuseThere is a further important issue to be considered; the possible association betweenparental mental illness and type of child abuse. A search of the literature failed toidentify any work which specifically explores this link. However, studies focusingon specific types of child abuse suggest parental mental illness is associated with
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32 Children’s <strong>Needs</strong> – <strong>Parenting</strong> <strong>Capacity</strong>Walker with Meadows’ (2004) study of 2,248 referrals to children’s social care found,on re-analysing their data, that parental mental illness was recorded in 10.4% ofreferrals, a finding similar to the 13% identified by Gibbons et al. (1995). However,prevalence increases with greater knowledge of the family circumstances. Followingan initial assessment, social workers recorded parental mental illness in 16.9% ofcases (Cleaver and Walker with Meadows 2004). When cases come under greaterscrutiny and a child protection conference is held, prevalence increases once again.Parental mental illness was identified in a quarter of cases coming to conference(Farmer and Owen 1995). There is a further rise in prevalence for children involvedin care proceedings. Parental mental illness had been noted in some 43% of caseswhere children are the subject of care proceedings (42% in Hunt et al. 1999; and43% in Brophy et al. 2003).Early research on child murder recorded particularly high rates of maternal mentalillness. Resnich’s (1969) review of 131 cases of parental child murder identified 71%of mothers as being depressed and Gibson’s (1975) study of maternal filicide noted90% of the mothers had a psychiatric disorder. More recent research into extremecases of child abuse tempers these findings, although there remains considerablevariation. Falkov’s (1996) study of fatal child abuse found 32% of parents had apsychiatric disorder, a finding similar to the rate (28%) identified in families subjectto serious case reviews during 2007–8 (Ofsted et al. 2008). However, this is likely tobe an underestimate. The analysis of an intensive sample of 40 serious case reviewsfound almost two-thirds (63%) of children lived in a household with a parent orcarer with current or past mental illness (Brandon et al. 2009 and 2010), a figurerather higher than the 43% found in Reder and Duncan’s 1999 study of fatal childabuse.The focus on mothers, common in much of the child protection research, mightsuggest that they are more prone to killing their children. However, filicide is notthe prerogative of mothers. Except for neonates, fathers and father figures are morelikely to murder a child in their care than are mothers (Marks and Kumar 1996;Stroud 1997; Cavanagh et al. 2007).Father admitted shaking the baby ... Both parents have a history of mental illness.Little known about family, but they have had frequent house moves and changesof name.(Brandon et al. 2008, p.46)Parental mental illness and type of child abuseThere is a further important issue to be considered; the possible association betweenparental mental illness and type of child abuse. A search of the literature failed toidentify any work which specifically explores this link. However, studies focusingon specific types of child abuse suggest parental mental illness is associated with
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