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Parents of Youth in Intensive Mental Health Treatment: Associations Between Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Parental Sense of Competence

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Abstract

The influence of severe emotional and behavioral disorders in youth on their parents is a complex, yet understudied topic. There is a dearth of literature in which the experiences of parents of youth who access intensive mental health treatment have been reported. The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ self-reported sense of competence in relation to their relationship status and in relation to the severity of their children’s symptoms. Data for this report were collected in a larger study on the psychosocial outcomes of youth accessing residential or intensive home-based treatment. In the current study, parental sense of competence was negatively associated with severity of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in children. Separated parents rated their parenting competence statistically significantly higher than divorced parents, though the practical significance of this finding is uncertain. Implications for social work research and practice are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Michèle Preyde

  2. The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Christine VanDonge

  3. Vanier Children’s Services, London, Canada

    Jeff Carter

  4. Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Hamilton, Canada

    Kelly Lazure-Valconi

  5. KidsLINK, St. Agatha, Canada

    Sara White

  6. Craigwood Youth Services, London, Canada

    Graham Ashbourne

  7. Lutherwood, Waterloo, Canada

    Randy Penney

  8. Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada

    Karen Frensch & Gary Cameron

Authors
  1. Michèle Preyde
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  2. Christine VanDonge
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  3. Jeff Carter
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  4. Kelly Lazure-Valconi
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  5. Sara White
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  6. Graham Ashbourne
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  7. Randy Penney
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  8. Karen Frensch
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  9. Gary Cameron
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Correspondence to Michèle Preyde.

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Preyde, M., VanDonge, C., Carter, J. et al. Parents of Youth in Intensive Mental Health Treatment: Associations Between Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Parental Sense of Competence. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 32, 317–327 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0375-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0375-z

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