Parent strategies to support young people experiencing mental health problems in Australia: What is most helpful?

Parents are a critical resource in supporting young people who live with mental health problems. Qualitative research has identified that parents use a wide range of strategies to provide support. However, parents report being unsure which strategies are likely to be helpful, so often struggle in this role. Presently, little empirical evidence exists to assist parents to decide which strategies are likely to be most helpful. This study aimed to explore the parent-perceived helpfulness of parental strategies to support young people living with mental health problems. Data were collected from February to July of 2018, using a cross-sectional, online, anonymous, self-report survey of participants who identified as parenting a young person (15-24 years) diagnosed with a mental health problem (n = 70). Overall, the strategies perceived as most helpful were practical assistance and personal interactions aimed at promoting positive thoughts and feelings and obtaining appropriate treatment. Least helpful strategies tended to be control-type strategies, aimed at behaviour change. Overall, there was good alignment between strategies' helpfulness and frequency of use, however, there were exceptions. These exceptions are likely reflections of the specific context of particular situations as well as parental uncertainty regarding alternative strategies. Generally, perceptions of strategies' helpfulness were unrelated to parent or child characteristics. However, helpfulness of strategies was associated with parents' satisfaction with their relationship with the young person. Parents' collective experience-based perceptions about the helpfulness of strategies used to support young people experiencing mental health problems can be harnessed to inform mental health practitioners' advice to parents and contribute to better mental health outcomes for young people.