2. For our project we chose to
specifically look at the ability of
children to be resilient in the
face of the challenges of having
a parent with a mental illness.
Resilience is shown by the
child’s ability to “bounce back”
from adversity.
3. Specifically when poverty is coupled with
parental mental illness the effects can be
negative and far reaching, however this does
not have to be the case.
As poverty and parental mental illness bring
forth certain circumstances, building on and
protecting a child’s resiliency is examined as
a way to combat the cycle and risk of the
child themselves developing a mental illness
in poverty.
4.
5. In today's environment children need to
develop strengths, acquire skills to cope,
and recover from hardships.
Living in poverty and having a parent with
mental illness can cause tremendous
amounts of stress for children.
6. Mental illness effects multiple relationships
and everyday living situations.
› Especially with those individuals who are in
poverty and have limited resources.
Mental illness can create chaos for children
in families of poverty because individuals
who suffer from severe mental illness may
have a difficult time obtaining and keeping
employment.
7. When employment is not steady financial
strain places more stress and anxiety on the
individual with the mental illness and
eventually on the children.
Parents with serious mental illness may be
vulnerable to financial insecurity, making
successful parenting especially difficult
(Luciano, A., 2014)
8. “People with a mental illness are among the
most vulnerable in our community, and
families affected by parental mental illness
are more likely to experience social isolation,
financial hardship, and marital discord”
(Mayberry, 2006).
9. Not only does a person with mental illness
and suffering from poverty have
disadvantages in having resources for
making decisions, the fact that there is
socioeconomic disadvantage in a family is
correlated with higher rates of child
psychiatric problems (Ramchandi, 2009,
pg. 651).
10. Chaotic living conditions commonly found in
low-income families are associated with:
› Difficulty responding to social cues
› Poor self-regulatory skills
› Lower scores on tests of cognition and
achievement
› (Feretti, L., & Bub, K., 2014).
11. Growing up with a mentally ill parent
increases the risk of persistent emotional
and behavioral disturbances in children
› More emotional and behavioral problems are
reported.
› (Knutson-Medin, L., 2007)
12. A lack of services and education for people
with mental issues and their families may be
one of the biggest challenges facing
developed countries today.
13. Mental illness and socioeconomic
disadvantage play havoc on the ability of
families and children to lead successful lives
free from poverty and mental illness,
however this isn’t necessarily the absolute.
14.
15. Microsystems is the level of the Ecological
Theory that focuses on the topic of parents
with mental illness.
The Microsystem level is the immediate
environment the children are in.
16. The interaction or lack of interaction between
the parent with mental illness and their
children
The ways parents with mental illness react to
their children on a daily basis due to their
mental illness
The mental illness affects the children and
the child’s resilience as they live with a
parent suffering from a mental illness.
17.
18. Children many times lack the following
resources to get help:
› Money
› Transportation
› Advocates
› Help
› Education
› Knowledge
19. By increasing the ability of children to
function as resilient people, research has
shown that it lessens their likelihood of
developing mental illness.
But how can we build resilience?
20. Help parents to build a positive parent/child
relationship through parenting classes or
counseling
21. Increase the support and education for the
individual with the mental illness and the
family.
22.
23. Successful interventions
› Take into account the individual needs of the
family
› Are family-based approaches
› Take into account the lack of resources available
to these families
transportation, money, education…
24. Get connected with
resources within your
community
› Workshops
› Support Groups
25. The negative and far reaching effects of
poverty and mental illness can be combated
by a resiliency program that provides
positive parenting techniques and counseling
on the parental mental illness that will
positively affect the dynamics within the
parent/child relationship.
26. By expanding the available resources and
supports, children can work towards positive
changes in their ability to function as resilient
people and break free from the cycles of
poverty and mental illness.
27. Beardslee, W. R., Gladstone, T. R. G., Wright, E. J., Cooper, A. B. (2003). A family-based approach to
the prevention of depressive symptoms in children at risk: Evidence of parental change and child
change. PEDIATRICS, 112(2), p. e119-e131.
Dixon, K. (2011). Road to resiliency: Recreation-based programming for children and youth who have
a parent with a mental illness. Relational Child and Youth Care Practices, 24 (1-2), p. 103-107.
Feretti, L., & Bub, K. (2014). The influence of family routines on the resilience of low-income
preschoolers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35(3), 168-180.
Knutson-Medin, L.; Edlund, B.; & Ramklit, M. (2007) Experiences in a group of grown-up children of
mentally ill parents. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 14(8), pp.744-752.
Luciano, A., Nicholson, J., & Meara, E. (2014). The economic status of parents with serious mental
illness in the United States., 37(3), 242-250. doi:10.1037/prj0000087Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Journal
Maybery, D., & Reupert, A. (2006). Workforce capacity to respond to children whose parents have a
mental illness. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, 40(8), 657-664.
Place, M., Reynolds, J., Cousins, A., O’Neill, S. (2002). Developing a resilience package for
vulnerable children. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 7(4), p. 162-167.
Ramchandi, P. & Psychogiou, L. (2009) Paternal psychiatric disorders and psychosocial development.
The Lancet, 374(9690), pp. 646-653.
Editor's Notes
“Some of the challenges facing these youth as missing out on opportunities for socialization and recreation due to a number of factors, such as lack of financial resources, lack of transportation, and the impact of the parent’s ability to plan and execute these opportunities for themselves” (Ratzlaff, p. 46).
Helping children cope and intervene when possible is doing their future a favor, helping the children understand their resilience against their parents and why things are the way they are plays a huge impact on the ways these children will be brought up.
According to Feretti (2014), “Studying children who overcome adversity to achieve good outcomes can tell us a great deal about ways we can reduce risk and promote competence.”
Resilience is seen as the ability to bounce back and function adequately despite being in the face of adversity, and it has been shown to be fostered by positive interaction and social supports (Dixon, 2011).
There is a solution to improve a child’s resiliency in overcoming the adversity of poverty and parental mental illness.
By Educating the parents and the children for individuals that deal with mental illnesses and have families; will increase the likelihood of the children in that family to not have developmental and physiological problems.
Combining education and outside support is one main soultion to reduce poverty in families that have an individual with mental illness.
The education that families receive, will offer experiences for learning “alternative perspectives and solutions to problems and learn to develop and apply coping skills”. (Dixon, K, 2011)
Parents were helped to build resilience in their children through encouraging their friendships, their success outside of the home, and their understanding of parental illness and of themselves” (Beardslee, W. R., 2003).
Three area approach to intervention that includes, education about the mental health disorder, family sessions, and skill development for the child (Place, 2002, pg. 164-165).
By increasing the ability of children to function as resilient people they are less likely to have a mental illness.
There are helpful outcomes that and answers to this is issue that our society is dealing with daily.
