Parents of children with genetic conditions that cause learning disabilities are at risk of mental health problems, suggests new research published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
The teams behind the study have called for greater support for parents whose child receives a genetic diagnosis for their learning disability.
As many as one in 20 families worldwide is thought to include a child with a learning disability, but little is known about how this affects the parents’ mental health and wellbeing. Although some parents experience depression and anxiety, it is not clear why some are at greater risk than others.
“It’s important that we understand why some parents are at greater risk of mental health problems than others. If a parent experiences long-term mental health problems, this could have a knock-on effect on the whole family, affecting partner relationships, the wellbeing of their child with disability, and the experiences of siblings. That’s why interventions are often more successful when they are designed to help parents in order to help children.” said Professor Claire Hughes from the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research
To address this question, Professor Hughes assembled an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham to analyse information from 888 families taking part in the IMAGINE-ID study – a UK-wide project examining the links between genetic diagnoses, learning disabilities and mental health. Parents were asked to rate their everyday feelings and the nature and impact of their child’s difficulties, as well as to provide information about their family’s social circumstances.
One parent who participated in IMAGINE-ID said that professionals tended to focus on the child’s needs and did not consider the wider needs of families: “It’s very much about getting support for your child. At no point were we ever offered any mental health support, even though we have such a massive role to play in bringing up our children. We need support as well.”
