Parents Caring for a Child with a Mental Disorder
Parents caring for a child with a mental disorder can experience the phenomenon of psychological stress (Dyson, 1997; Manning, Wainwright, & Bennett, 2011; McStay & Trembath, 2014; Paynter, Riley, Beamish, Davies, & Milford, 2013; Wolf, Noh, Fisman, & Speechly, 1989). A mental disorder is an impairment in psychological or behavioural tendencies, which may cause a person to show disruptive, violent or harmful behaviour to themselves or others (American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), 2000). These behavioural characteristics are typical of children with mental disorders and this behaviour may challenge parental coping skills (Farmer, Burns, Angold, & Costello, …show more content…
These are the stimulus (Elliott & Eisendorfer, 1982; Holmes and Rahe, 1967), stimulus-response (Selye, 1955) and the relational approach (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The stimulus and response approaches to stress will provide little understanding into the context of families experiencing psychological stress because it is limited to conceptualizing stress as a phenomenon which is separate from an individual. Furthermore, the complex nature of family life (Boss, 2002) coupled with the onset of parental stress cannot be generalized to all families. A more suitable approach to psychological stress should acknowledge differences by accounting for both the person and the environment in which the stress is experienced. Unlike the stimulus and response approaches to stress, the relational approach assumes that psychological stress cannot be considered as an environmental or reaction generated phenomenon, however, it explains the existing relationship between the person and the environment, and it is the basis for appraisal process (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). This paper will include two perspectives based on the relational approach to stress. First and foremost, the relational account of differences in experiencing stress, which is incorporated into the psychological stress and coping theory will be discussed. Lazarus and Folkman in 1984 proposed the psychological stress and coping theory and defined stress as “a particular relationship between the person and the environment; which is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering to his or her well-being” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 19). The second perspective from the relational approach to be discussed, is the cognitive behavioural theory (Beck, 1970). The cognitive behavioural theory acknowledges that individual thoughts and beliefs within a specific environmental context
Parents caring for a child with a mental disorder can experience the phenomenon of psychological stress (Dyson, 1997; Manning, Wainwright, & Bennett, 2011; McStay & Trembath, 2014; Paynter, Riley, Beamish, Davies, & Milford, 2013; Wolf, Noh, Fisman, & Speechly, 1989). A mental disorder is an impairment in psychological or behavioural tendencies, which may cause a person to show disruptive, violent or harmful behaviour to themselves or others (American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), 2000). These behavioural characteristics are typical of children with mental disorders and this behaviour may challenge parental coping skills (Farmer, Burns, Angold, & Costello, …show more content…
These are the stimulus (Elliott & Eisendorfer, 1982; Holmes and Rahe, 1967), stimulus-response (Selye, 1955) and the relational approach (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The stimulus and response approaches to stress will provide little understanding into the context of families experiencing psychological stress because it is limited to conceptualizing stress as a phenomenon which is separate from an individual. Furthermore, the complex nature of family life (Boss, 2002) coupled with the onset of parental stress cannot be generalized to all families. A more suitable approach to psychological stress should acknowledge differences by accounting for both the person and the environment in which the stress is experienced. Unlike the stimulus and response approaches to stress, the relational approach assumes that psychological stress cannot be considered as an environmental or reaction generated phenomenon, however, it explains the existing relationship between the person and the environment, and it is the basis for appraisal process (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). This paper will include two perspectives based on the relational approach to stress. First and foremost, the relational account of differences in experiencing stress, which is incorporated into the psychological stress and coping theory will be discussed. Lazarus and Folkman in 1984 proposed the psychological stress and coping theory and defined stress as “a particular relationship between the person and the environment; which is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering to his or her well-being” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 19). The second perspective from the relational approach to be discussed, is the cognitive behavioural theory (Beck, 1970). The cognitive behavioural theory acknowledges that individual thoughts and beliefs within a specific environmental context