Friday, August 29, 2014 at 12:30 PM
Room 200, Graduate Student Centre (6371 Crescent Road), UBC Point Grey Campus
Title: Parents as Partners: Perspectives of School Supports in Parents of Adolescents with Internalizing Disorders
Research Supervisor: Dr. Lynn Miller (CNPS)
Supervisory Committee: Dr. Sterett Mercer (SCPS), Dr. William Borgen (CNPS)
University Examiners: Dr. Laurie Ford (SCPS), Dr. Cynthia Nichol (EDCP)
External Examiner: Dr. Gloria Miller (University of Denver)
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to identify, describe, and categorize the experiences of child and family school supports in parents of adolescents with internalizing mental health concerns. Eleven parents of adolescents diagnosed with an internalizing disorder were interviewed and asked about aspects of school support that they perceived as being helpful or hindering to their child or family. Data were analyzed using the enhanced critical incident technique (ECIT; Butterfield, Borgen, Maglio, & Amundson, 2009), which has been adapted from Flanagan’s (1954) critical incident technique (CIT). Critical events (n=215) were recorded and sorted into emergent unitary clusters based on content analysis. These categories were subjected to rigorous reliability and validity checks including analysis by another researcher, calculation of interrater agreement, and participant feedback. This process yielded seven categories that represented the participants’ experiences of school support. The categories were: Individualized Support, Communication Between Home and School, Understanding and Support, a Team Approach, A Safe Place at School, Having an Advocate in the School System, and Understanding Mental Health. Participants were asked to generate a wish list of supports they would find helpful if available. Thirty-one wish list items were generated by eight of the participants. Wish list items embodied four categories, which were: Individualized Supports, Resources and Services, Communication, and Professional Development.