Constructing 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.

Where Do We Go After Surviving the Virus? Cross-Country Documentary Analysis of the Social Consequences Faced by COVID-19 Survivors.

In this study, we attempted to move beyond the skewed discussions on stigma to unravel other social consequences that are experienced by persons who have recovered from COVID-19. We conducted a documentary review of published news reports from 14 highly ranked news portals in Ghana and Malaysia (published between 1st January 2020 and 30th August 2020) that contained personal accounts from the recovered patients about their lived experiences with the virus and social consequences encountered after recovery. Narratives from the recovered patients were extracted and analyzed following the narrative thematic analysis procedure. Common themes identified from the narratives included: 1) Stigma impacting mental health, 2) Assault and abuse 3) Experiences of treatment. The findings show the need for interprofessional collaboration between social and health care professionals such as social workers, community health workers, medical practitioners and psychologists to prevent and address issues of abuse and other social consequences experienced by COVID-19 survivors.

Living with parental mental illness is like a roller coaster: Reflections on children's lifeworld in the family setting.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore what it is like for children in the family setting to live with parental mental illness. BACKGROUND: There are reported risks of negative social and behavioural outcomes among children living with parental mental illness such as poor school performance, isolation and poor mental health. There is yet more to know about how children's interactions with significant members of the family shape their experiences. DESIGN: A phenomenological design following Husserl's concepts of lifeworld and inter-subjectivity was adapted for the study. METHOD: Twenty-one children (ages 10-17) who lived with a parent with mental illness were interviewed. The data were analysed to attain the essential features of the phenomenon. The study followed the COREQ checklist for qualitative studies. FINDINGS: The essence of the phenomenon 'living with parental mental illness' in the family setting comprises strain, sadness and some happy moments. Living with parental mental illness can produce unpredictable life situations for children as relationships and interactions in the family setting can be chaotic and confusing. The ups and downs define their lifeworld as a roller coaster. Strenuous family environment, sibling interaction, navigating separate living arrangements and there are good days were specific themes that clarified the children's lives as a roller coaster. CONCLUSION: A concept called the 'parent paradox' is coined to reflect how children are torn between what their living situation looks like comparing the parent with mental illness and the other without mental illness. The paradox is founded on children's loyalty towards their parents. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: To break the unhealthy cycle created by the parent paradox, mental health nurses should ensure that children are well informed about the parent's mental condition including information about treatment procedures and recovery. Child's psychological distress may be reduced when they are informed.

Filicide as a cultural practice in Ghana: The qualitative understanding of a family tragedy and its implications for child protection practice.

BACKGROUND: Contrary to evidence from the Western literature, cases of filicide in Ghana are mostly unreported because they are rooted in cultural practices and hidden from the general public. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural context of filicide in a rural community. Particularly, to provide an understanding of the spirit child (SC) phenomenon, how the killing of a SC is performed and to provide a general understanding of filicide within a particular context. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Four relatives of a family that engaged in a filicide incident took part in the study. The interviews were conducted in a rural community in Ghana where the incident occurred. METHODS: Short written narratives were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of relatives whose family engaged in filicide. RESULTS: Children with severe deformities are likely to be associated with matters of divinity which gives way for the conceptualization of the SC and its attendant filicide. The findings highlight the critical role of traditional healers in rural communities and the consequences of strong community beliefs and expectations that influence parents to commit filicide. CONCLUSION: The study provides directions for child protection workers to address the stigma parents face for having children with severe deformities and to provide education on child welfare legislation.

Exploring the support services of foster care leavers: An institutional ethnographic study.

Research has documented the challenges faced by foster care leavers in their transition to independent living or adult lives revolving around education, employment, accommodation, substance use and criminal involvement. Although studies have investigated the support available to foster care leavers, there is inadequate research on the contribution of social service organisations where most foster leavers receive services. More particularly, in Denmark, child welfare services do not reach foster care leavers as a specific target group beyond 23 years. Therefore, the perspectives of foster care leavers about their experiences with support resources from a non-governmental social service organisation in Denmark were explored. This was an institutional ethnographic study involving in-depth interviews with 17 foster care leavers at the organisation where they received services. Data from the interviews were analysed following a thematic analysis. Themes including networking and social skills, practical support and sense of family were reported. The study demonstrates that the need for social connections and relationships, education and employment is a priority for foster care leavers. Professionals working with foster care leavers should teach the population relevant skills that could help them build healthy relationships with others. Policies should be developed to support the roles performed by such social service organisations to ensure that foster care leavers do not experience difficult transitions into independent living.

Child polyvictimization in Zongo communities in Ghana: Young people's reflections on systemic resilience enablers.

PURPOSE: Polyvictimization is often commonplace for young people living in violent communities. The situation is no different for young people in Ghanaian Zongo communities where poverty, social disorder and social vices are prevalent due to structural reasons. OBJECTIVE: Using the social ecology approach to resilience, the study sought the perspectives of young people about how systemic aspects of community contribute to their positive development in high-risk communities. METHODS: Following the short narrative approach, 23 young people ages 18-24 from two Zongo communities in Ghana were engaged in qualitative interviews. FINDINGS: Cultural values of solidarity and peer support were common systemic enablers that facilitated young peoples' resilience. These enablers provided context and resources which ensured their survival in cases of neglect and abuse. Cultural values of solidarity exemplified by care for each other among residents created a safe environment and cultural capital contributed to the young peoples' resilience. Additionally, the "base" within Zongo communities provided a social structure that enabled peer support and promoted young peoples' resilience in the face of polyvictimization experiences. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings shift the resilience discourse from a conception of personality traits to one of collective aspects of community systems. They also identify cultural values of solidarity within the community that provide cultural capital for the social functioning of young people dealing with polyvictimization in high-risk environments. The findings provide pathways for professionals to promote resilience and develop resilience-oriented primary preventive measures for adolescents living in high-risk environments in Africa.

Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience.

BACKGROUND: Kinship care has become a favourable alternative care option for orphans and vulnerable children without adequate parental care in Ghana. However, kinship care practices in Ghana are considered informal cultural practices without formal regulations. The absence of formal regulations could have consequences on the health and development of children due to the lack of proper supervision and empirical assessment of children's needs. In line with recent policy discussions on mechanisms to regulate informal kinship care practices, this study aimed to identify how the State could be involved in improving kinship care experience for children. METHODS: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 young persons (aged 18-23) who had been received into kinship care to share their experiences on how the State could be involved in improving kinship care experience for children. Narratives from the young people were analysed following the constructivist grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Introduction of a welfare scheme for kinship caregivers, policy on child care, provision of start-up capital and training for caregivers, were measures suggested by the young people to improve kinship care practice. Providing start-up capital to kinship caregivers was identified to mitigate caregivers' unemployment challenges, which could have ripple effects on the well-being of children by escalating caregiver stress. CONCLUSION: The study's findings suggest that the State has a significant role to ensure that caregivers are equipped with the needed resources to provide adequate care for children. Regulating kinship care practices should embrace a strength-based empowerment model that builds on the capacity of the caregivers to ensure better outcomes for children. Studies that explore the views of policy makers and caregivers in a larger sample may yield promising results to complement the current findings.

Drawing on Kinship Care Support for Older People during a Pandemic (COVID-19): Practice Considerations for Social Workers in Ghana.

Undoubtedly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought both systemic, practice changes and limitations to social workers' commitment to the welfare of vulnerable populations such as older people. A golden preventive rule of the COVID-19 pandemic; maintaining physical and social distancing, has limited social workers' direct practice support for older people who are considered as an at-risk population. Within jurisdictions such as Ghana where kinship care practices are culturally engrained, social workers should promote kinship care support as substitute mechanisms and pathways to safeguard or meet the welfare needs of older people.

Moving towards independent living in Ghana: Narratives from young adults about their kinship care experience.

INTRODUCTION: In most sub-Saharan African countries, studies on the impact of out-of-home care experience on the transition of young adults leaving care are limited to those leaving institutional or foster care with no empirical evidence on the experiences of those moving out of kinship care. This study reports findings from interviews with young adults with experience of kinship care in Ghana, about what lessons their kinship care experiences provided in their transition to adulthood. METHOD: Twenty-five young adults aged 21-25 years (17 males, 8 females) with kinship care experience from rural communities in Ghana were purposively selected. Using a semi-structured interview guide, a qualitative short narrative approach was employed. Consistent patterns from the short narratives were analysed using the qualitative thematic approach. RESULTS: Key themes identified from the participants' narratives were a) learning from life experiences b) better decision making and c) development of resilient strategies. Young adults reported that they shaped their lives with lessons from negative experiences, advice received from caregivers and management skills obtained from the unskilled income generating activities they undertook whilst in kinship care. CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence for policymakers to consider kinship care as an effective, suitable and cost-effective alternative care arrangement for children in need of adequate parental care in Ghana. When assessing kin's suitability to provide care, some emphasis should be on caregivers' needs and assessment of activities engaged in by children living in kinship care. Social workers should provide counselling and education support to children moving out of kinship care.