In a given year, 14% of children aged 4 – 17 will experience a mental health problem, yet few will seek help from a medical professional. Parents and guardians are often fundamental to young people obtaining access to care, however their attitudes and awareness can influence if and when care is sought.  Although parents tend to be aware of help-seeking options for young people in distress, their confidence in facilitating referral to care or in recognising the signs of mental illness is typically low due to a lack of intervention programs in this area. Recent focus groups conducted with parents identified the need for more targeted education in the identification, referral, and support of young people. Therefore, there is a need to develop an accessible online program targeted specifically to the needs of parents. The program developed from this research will aim to empower parents to better support the mental health needs of their children by being able to readily identify if there is a problem, knowing how to effectively respond to a problem and confidently access external care and support when needed. The developed program will be evaluated to determine effectiveness.

Does this study have ethics approval?

If you have any concerns or complaints about how this research has been conducted, please contact:

Ethics Manager, The ANU Human Research Ethics Committee
The Australian National University
Telephone: +61 2 6125 3427
Email: Human.Ethics.Officer@anu.edu.au

How can I obtain information about the results of the study?

Findings from this research will be posted here on the study website after the results have been collated.

Resource Development

A parent resource, Recognise, Respond and Support was developed in 2023, after obtaining feedback from parents, through a survey, interviews, and resource testing. In 2022, 631 parents completed a survey on their views regarding the need, accessibility, design features and content for a resource to help support youth mental health. Parents prioritised content focused on anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide. Fourteen parents were interviewed concerning their journey in addressing their child’s mental health challenges, with their experience used in the creation of the resource. Finally, nine parents along with two staff members from separate education departments reviewed and provided comment on a draft version of the resource. All feedback from parents was taken into consideration in developing the resource. In September 2023, we commenced a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the resource in improving parent’s knowledge and their confidence to recognise mental health problems in their children, respond to their child, and seek support from health professionals.

Why should I participate in this study?

We are conducting this research to guide the development and determine the effectiveness of an online program aimed at empowering parents to better support the mental health needs of their children. By participating, you will be able to help in the development of this program.

What should I do if I am feeling distressed?

If you experience distress whilst completing this survey, please do not continue and contact your local general practitioner or one of the services below for help:

Lifeline

Crisis support and suicide prevention service.

Telephone (24hrs): 13 11 14
Website: https://www.lifeline.org.au

Beyond Blue

Information and support for mental health problems like depression, anxietyand suicide.

Telephone (24hrs): 1300 22 4636
Website: https://www.beyondblue.org.au

Suicide Call Back Service

Telephone and online counselling for people affected by suicide.

Telephone (24hrs): 1300 659 467
Website: https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/