Children's understanding of mental ill health: implications for risk and resilience in relationships

Walsh, Judi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5042-0458 (2009) Children's understanding of mental ill health: implications for risk and resilience in relationships. Child and Family Social Work, 14 (1). pp. 115-122. ISSN 1365-2206

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Abstract

Research shows that having a parent with a mental health problem has associated risks for children, but some families seem very resilient and do not always suffer these difficulties. In order for social workers to be able to support the development of resilience in families who appear to be at risk, we need to understand what factors may ameliorate some of these risks. Research seems to suggest that children who can conceptualize their parent's mental health problem as something ‘outside’ their representation of that parent as an attachment figure are likely to have better outcomes than children who see the mental-health problem as part of, and embedded within, their representation of that parent. However, in order to develop an understanding of how this conceptualization affects attachment relationships and outcomes, we need to know what children understand by mental ill health. We also need to consider how this conceptualization might be changed, and it appears that parents, other attachment figures and other support figures may play a key role here. This paper provides a selective review of the research area and discusses the mechanisms which may govern this complex process. The review concludes with recommendations for future research and practice.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2015 04:48
Last Modified:	15 Jun 2023 23:54
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/53501
DOI:	10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00597.x

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