Understanding conduct disorder: the ways in which mothers attempt to make sense of their children's behaviour

The most common reason for referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is often cited as being so-called 'disruptive behaviour disorders' (Puckering, 2009). Current treatment guidelines focus on family interventions, especially parent training programmes (NICE, 2006) and these have recently been included in the implementation of 'Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' project (CYP IAPT, 2012). There have been significant difficulties reported in engaging families, with parental attributions and attitudes towards help-seeking being proposed as factors influencing engagement (Morrissey-Kane & Prinz, 1999; Kane et al., 2007). However, much of the previous research has tended to privilege pre-existing frameworks of understanding. The current study utilised qualitative methods in order to add to the current understanding of parents' experiences. Specifically, the ways in which parents attempt to make sense of their children's behaviour. Participants were recruited through CAMHS and semi-structured interviews were carried out with six mothers. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) revealed four master themes: 'Looking for an answer', 'The emotional experience of being a parent', 'Trying to get help' and '...a long, long road ...' Participants used a variety of frameworks in order to try and make sense of their children's behaviour, including emphasising difficulties in processing complex emotions and the impact of loss and trauma. Participants appeared to struggle to integrate opposing views of their children and the emotional impact of parenting and the wider family context was found to be vital in understanding mothers' experiences.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo