The Influence of Parenting Practices, Knowledge and Attitudes on Help-seeking Intentions for Child Anxiety

This study aims to examine the relationships between parents’ beliefs, attitudes, and anxiety stigma and literacy and their intentions towards seeking help for their child if they exhibit signs of anxiety

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Centre for Mental Health Research

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Current

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Samuel Ma

samuel.ma@anu.edu.au

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About

Childhood anxiety is a common problem, affecting up to 20% of children. If left untreated, it is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including lower academic achievement, social difficulties, poor physical health outcomes, and employment difficulties in adulthood. Unfortunately, only a small number of children with anxiety receive proper psychological help, and childhood anxiety often persists into adulthood, as well. Parents are one of the main gatekeepers for children’s mental health help-seeking. It is important for parents to be able and willing to seek help if they or their child have concerns regarding the child’s mental health.

Previous research has identified several factors associated with lower rates of parental help-seeking for child anxiety. These include stigma (negative attitudes and stereotypes), poor literacy (lack of knowledge) and self-efficacy (personal judgement of competence). However, there is little research on how parents’ stigma, literacy and self-efficacy affect their willingness to seek help for their children’s anxiety. There is also minimal research on how parenting practices affect their help-seeking intentions. Understanding how parental factors influence help-seeking is important in order to support anxious children and their families.

Does this study have ethics approval?

The ethical aspects of this research have been approved by the ANU Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol 2019/825). 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 the study will be posted here on the study website after the surveys are returned and the results are collated.

Why should I participate in this study?

We are conducting this study to investigate how parental attitudes and beliefs may affect their intentions to seek help for their child if they exhibit signs of anxiety. The findings of this study will help inform programs promoting help-seeking among parents of anxious children.

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: