The Support Needs of Non-offending Parents
Lead Research Organisation:
Glasgow Caledonian University
Department Name: Sch of Health and Life Sciences
Abstract
The negative impact that child sexual abuse (CSA) has upon the shorter and longer-term health and wellbeing outcomes of children is now well established. It is considered however that high levels of support from non-abusing parents post-abuse may moderate negative outcomes for children. Consequently, supportive non-abusing parents have been identified as a key protective factor in children's recovery pathways while low levels of support from non-abusing parents have been linked to poorer outcomes for survivors. Non-supportive parents are however more likely to be experiencing forms of psychosocial stress related to the impact of the disclosure or other unresolved phenomenon. This highlights the importance of supporting non-abusing parents towards providing the best possible care to children in the aftermath of CSA. Others have however argued that parental support is a weak predictor of outcomes for children. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research which has sought to explore the support needs of non-abusing parents post-disclosure. The proposed study aims to address this gap in knowledge.
This proposed study will adopt a participatory framework to engage with non-abusing parents and explore their support needs post-disclosure. The key research questions the study will address are:
1. How do non-abusing parents experience disclosure of CSA?
2. What forms of support are available to non-abusing parents?
3. How do non-abusing parents experience these forms of support?
4. What helps non-abusing parents to positively support a child following the disclosure of CSA?
5. How best can services support non-abusing parents post-disclosure?
The study has a strong applied focus and will seek to inform the development of support services to non-abusing parents and identify ways to strengthen the capacities of non-abusing parents to provide protective care for children.
The proposed study will invoke a participatory approach to study design and data collection. It is argued that participatory approaches to research are ethically preferable when working with marginalised or otherwise 'hidden' groups of people. It empowers participants towards a sense of ownership over the processes of research and their narratives. This study will draw upon the participatory narrative research (PNR) method of which fuses aspects of narrative inquiry with participatory action research. This approach places as central the raw stories of lived personal experience. The experiences of non-abusing parents will be accessed by flexibly working alongside parents to develop data collection methods that allow them to tell their stories in ways that work best for them. This approach will more effectively capture the experiences of non-abusing parents in ways that are non-exploitative or re-traumatising. Moreover, this recognises that non-abusing parents may already feel quite disempowered as involuntary clients of statutory child protection services. These methods may include semi-structured interviews, video diaries, journal entries or a range of other creative approaches. This study will give non-abusing parents a platform on which to share their lived experiences, identify their support needs and inform how services can more effectively to respond to their needs post-disclosure.
Impact
Non-offending parents are not only secondary victims to CSA but critical players in the ongoing protection and recovery of their children. It is critical therefore that service provision is underpinned by an understanding of their support needs. The findings from this study will be disseminated internationally and nationally.
This proposed study will adopt a participatory framework to engage with non-abusing parents and explore their support needs post-disclosure. The key research questions the study will address are:
1. How do non-abusing parents experience disclosure of CSA?
2. What forms of support are available to non-abusing parents?
3. How do non-abusing parents experience these forms of support?
4. What helps non-abusing parents to positively support a child following the disclosure of CSA?
5. How best can services support non-abusing parents post-disclosure?
The study has a strong applied focus and will seek to inform the development of support services to non-abusing parents and identify ways to strengthen the capacities of non-abusing parents to provide protective care for children.
The proposed study will invoke a participatory approach to study design and data collection. It is argued that participatory approaches to research are ethically preferable when working with marginalised or otherwise 'hidden' groups of people. It empowers participants towards a sense of ownership over the processes of research and their narratives. This study will draw upon the participatory narrative research (PNR) method of which fuses aspects of narrative inquiry with participatory action research. This approach places as central the raw stories of lived personal experience. The experiences of non-abusing parents will be accessed by flexibly working alongside parents to develop data collection methods that allow them to tell their stories in ways that work best for them. This approach will more effectively capture the experiences of non-abusing parents in ways that are non-exploitative or re-traumatising. Moreover, this recognises that non-abusing parents may already feel quite disempowered as involuntary clients of statutory child protection services. These methods may include semi-structured interviews, video diaries, journal entries or a range of other creative approaches. This study will give non-abusing parents a platform on which to share their lived experiences, identify their support needs and inform how services can more effectively to respond to their needs post-disclosure.
Impact
Non-offending parents are not only secondary victims to CSA but critical players in the ongoing protection and recovery of their children. It is critical therefore that service provision is underpinned by an understanding of their support needs. The findings from this study will be disseminated internationally and nationally.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Naomi McGookin (Student) |