Navigating peer relationships: What do friendships look like for children whose parents have mental illnesses?

Peer support programmes among children whose parents have mental illnesses have rarely focused on how these children relate with peers in the general population. Therefore, this phenomenological study in Ghana involved interviews with 13 children (ages 10 to 17) living with parental mental illness to learn about their peer relationships. Data were analysed to identify the phenomenon's essential features and constituents. The study finds that peer relations entail secrecy, peer victimisation and abuse. To these children, keeping secrets about parental mental illness ensures they have ‘normal’ peer relationships like others, as troubled peer relationships can develop when peers are informed about the parents' mental illness. Name-calling, teasing and withdrawal persists when peers are aware of one's parental mental illness. Although the children perceive that they may find comfort in children who are in a similar situation, the pros and cons of developing peer support out of these in-groups have to be verified rather than assumed. It is recommended that helping professionals educate school children and address myths they have about mental illness and its impact on their relationships

Constructing the the school paradox in the lives of children living with parental mental illness

Children living with parental mental illness are referred to as an invisible population because mental health services rarely target them, as the focus is often on the parent who is ill mentally. The same situation occurs even in school where they are unnoticed. This study conducted in Ghana creates awareness about what these children think about their interactions at school in the context of parental mental illness. Data was collected through interviews and diaries with 13 children living with parental mental illness and analysed to attain the essential features through Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology. The children find the school as a happy space where they do not have to be worried about the parent’s mental illness. Ultimately, though, even at school, most of the children become concerned about the mental wellbeing of the parent due to their loyalty towards them. This results in the school paradox where the children are torn between having their own time at school and being worried about the parent’s condition back home, wanting to be there for the parent. The school paradox is an unhealthy cycle that could be addressed with coordinated efforts from mental health professionals, social workers, psychologists and teachers

Passing the torch or breaking a cycle of intergenerational transmission of child labour: Reflections from the lived experiences of children

Child labour is theorized to be influenced by social and cultural norms that legitimise child labour activities. While research has documented the nature of child labour, in terms of what activities children are engaged in as well as the impact it could have on children’s development, not much is known about the pathways that lead to the normalisation of child labour. In this narrative qualitative study, we explored the pathways to normalising child labour among children in Ghana. The experiences of 18 children interviewed leads to an overall consideration of a case of passing the torch or breaking the cycle of intergenerational transmission of child labour. The study reported, continuing the family business, contributing to family income and reasonable earnings, as part of the debate for passing the torch. However, there is also room to break the potential for the intergenerational transmission of child labour which requires efforts from relevant stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and policy makers. With an understanding of how child labour may be legitimised, we can now move to develop programmes and interventions to de-legitimise child labour norms and contribute to positive outcomes for children

Assessing Child Maintenance Cases in Ghana: What Do Social Workers Consider?

While one of the key responsibilities of social services in Ghana is to conduct maintenance arrangements so that the nonresident parent is committed to making financial contributions to the well-being of the child, little is known about what informs social workers’ assessments in child maintenance cases. The aim of this study was to determine what social workers consider when undertaking child maintenance assessments. A qualitative practice research study was conducted with 13 social workers and 12 parents involved in a child maintenance case with three agencies of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in Ghana. The study showed that corroborating the existence of nonpayment for maintenance in the family is the first step in assessing other factors, such as the parent’s income, occupational status and maintenance amount. Even after the maintenance amount was decided upon, social workers were often unable to follow-up on nonresident parents to ensure that they complied with the maintenance arrangements. Given that no assessment instrument exists in Ghana for addressing child maintenance cases, the study’s findings can provide useful information that can aid in the development of an instrument or framework to assist social workers in their assessments

Using Diaries With Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Guidelines From a Study of Children Whose Parents Have Mental Illness

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) first appeared in publication in 1996 but was introduced as a comprehensive methodology in a first published book in 2009 by Smith, Flowers and Larkin. Since its publication, IPA has seen tremendous application in psychology and cognate social science disciplines. Most IPA studies have used interviews as their primary data collection tool. This is not surprising as semi-structured interviews fit the theoretical foundations of IPA and the authors of the IPA book themselves dedicated a chapter to interviewing. However, the authors have also lamented the lack of the use of diaries in the methodology. Yet, there are scarce IPA studies (or even phenomenological studies in general) using diaries as data collection tool. This is surprising as diaries are amenable with some core elements of phenomenology which IPA ascribes to. The inadequate use of diaries within IPA may be due to the lack of practical insights into what diaries could look like, how they can be obtained or whether they can fit with phenomenology. In this article, I reflect on how diaries can be administered and what kind of information can be accessed as part of a study involving children whose parents have mental illness. The article shows that diaries have strong connections with the theoretical foundations of IPA. Also, because diaries offer adequate time and space for participants to reflect on their lifeworld, it enables participants to talk in-depth about experiences of significance to them. The article can provide lessons for researchers hoping to employ diaries in their IPA studies or other phenomenological approaches

Making Sense of Husserlian Phenomenological Philosophy in Empirical Research

Phenomenological philosophy is esoteric. Therefore, it is not surprising that most empirical studies adopting a phenomenological approach do not acknowledge or engage with key phenomenological concepts that could shape their investigations. Meanwhile, can we claim that a study is phenomenological when it ignores fundamental phenomenological concepts/theories? A part of the lack of engagement with fundamental phenomenological concepts in empirical research is due to how challenging it is to make sense of these concepts in research. I rely on key concepts from Husserl’s phenomenology such as intentionality, natural attitude, lifeworld, pure essence and inter-subjectivity to envisage the application of phenomenological philosophy in empirical research. The concepts provide different perspectives to thinking about, seeing and analysing the world around us. It is hoped that this article makes phenomenological philosophy more accessible for researchers to apply in their investigations. With dedicated study, these concepts can be useful in different stages of the research process

When Parents Fail: Addressing Delinquent Child Maintenance Through Informal Resources

The success rate using formal mechanisms by Ghanaian social workers to ensure the best outcomes for the child when there is default in child maintenance payments is low; hence the need to explore other strategies. The objective of this research was to explore informal support resources that could be helpful to families involved with social services on delinquent child maintenance (DCM). Guided by a practice research approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 parents involved with a regional-level social service organization in Ghana. Their narratives were analyzed thematically using the NVivo software. Findings revealed that DCM is a problem for both sexes. Parents reported information, financial, and material support from relatives and neighbors to be relevant resources in addressing the problem. The study’s findings suggest the need for social workers to focus on informal support when addressing DCM and emphasize parental roles as situation-based not gender-based