Children living with an affectively ill parent: How do they cope?

Abstract

Most studies examining children of affectively ill parents have focused on child maladjustment, diagnosable psychopathology and adverse contextual factors, such as family discord and/or breakdown. Little research has incorporated children’s perspectives on their experiences of living with parental affective illness and how they cope. The aims of the present study were to explore the narratives of 20 children (aged 12–17 years old) of affectively ill parents (affected children), to elicit the processes by which they cope with their family situation. Comparisons were drawn with the perspectives of children of ‘well’ parents (comparative children), matched in terms of age, gender and socio-economic status. A multi-method research design, consisting of a semi-structured interview schedule and the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg, 1993) was used. Analysis revealed that affected children were more likely to adopt the non-productive coping style and were less likely to seek external support to help them cope with their family situation than the comparative children. This was largely due to the fear, secrecy and stigma surrounding mental illness in the family, which prevented them from seeking effective advocacy and support. This may be due to the lack of external support networks available to affected children, which limited the range of elements influencing their choice of coping styles. Recommendations and possible future directions are postulated of which the common goal is to develop the human potential of children ‘at risk’.