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This chapter reviews qualitative research on parenting children with disabilities published over the last 50 years to explore whether shifts in academic discourse and changes in professional training have affected research on parenting and/or the experiences of parents who are the subject of such research.

An extensive literature search was conducted, and 78 peer-reviewed, qualitative studies on the experience of parenting a child with a disability were included in the sample. Themes were extracted from the reviewed literature and compared across decades.

The findings of the present review suggest that some aspects of the parenting experience have changed very little. In particular, parents continue to experience negative reactions such as stress and anomie, especially early in their children’s lives, and socially imposed barriers such as unhelpful professionals, and a lack of needed services continue to create problems and inspire an entrepreneurial response. In addition, stigmatizing encounters with others continue to be a common occurrence. In contrast to earlier decades, studies conducted in more recent years have begun to use the social model of disability as an analytic frame and also increasingly report that parents are questioning and challenging the concept of “normal” itself.

Additional improvements are needed in professional education and services to reduce the negative reactions experienced by parents of children with disabilities.

The findings of this meta-analysis can serve as a guide to future research on parenting children with disabilities.

The research sought to assess perceived barriers to enrolment in parenting programmes by different ethnic groups in a deprived inner‐city community. In study one, parents of children attending pre‐school services targeted with outreach strategies were assessed using a Barriers Checklist to identify factors influencing uptake. In study two, a larger sample completed the checklist and SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) to test associations between intention and parent‐rated behavioural difficulties. Study one found no significant differences in individual perceived barriers or levels of behavioural difficulty between ethnic groups. In study two, Pakistani, Asian British and African families showed the highest levels of interest in attending groups, and White British and Black British the lowest. There was no significant correlation between interest and behavioural difficulties. Higher parent education was associated with interest. The research shows that barriers to attendance are diverse, and finding further ways of enhancing the uptake of community‐based group programmes across different ethnic groups would be valuable.

Social distancing and school closures have changed the lives of many parents around the globe. In addition to these problems, parents of children with developmental difficulties (DD) have faced additional stressors that make them even more susceptible to higher stress levels and the onset or worsening of anxiety or depression. Consequentially, these stressors may have an indirect effect on parental functioning and children with DD owing to the spillover effect.

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to parents of children with DD through an overview of possible additional stressors that have appeared during the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia. In writing this viewpoint paper, three sources were consulted: official state documents, communication with professionals (e.g. speech therapists) and online support groups for parents of children with DD.

Restrictive measures during the lockdown led to a lack of both formal and informal support for parents of children with DD. Moreover, the possibility of infection led to higher levels of fear among these parents; children with DD also encountered problems coping with both the restrictive measures and the demands of distance learning.

This paper may present a good starting point for both governments and NGOs when discussing and planning further advancement in the quality of response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a “recovery” response after the crisis. This overview may provide better insight into COVID-19–related consequences among parents of children with DD, which is vital to increasing the effectiveness of future measures and actions.

Although some negative effects of the pandemic on children have already been discussed by several authors, little attention has been paid to parents, and even less so to parents of children with DD. This paper may even represent a pioneering work in exploring the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population group.

A small number of studies have suggested that parental divorce may manifest during adulthood as low-level emotional distress characterized by painful feelings such as sadness or self-blame. In light of the paucity of existing research on distress, the current study was designed to assess the presence of distress among a sample of young adults with divorced parents and to ascertain whether painful feelings accurately describe the primary ongoing consequences of parental divorce.

Semi-structured interviews with a sample of university students were conducted to investigate the concept of distress after parental divorce. Interview guides were designed to elicit responses about ways that parental divorce continues to influence the lives of young adults.

The study identified a set of ongoing stressors that do not overlap substantially with previous measures of post-divorce distress and that are often rooted in logistical difficulties. Three specific sources of distress are discussed: family coordination difficulties, struggles balancing the politics of parental expectations about time with their children, and perceptions of family fragmentation. These sources of distress frequently originate in the physical separation of parents’ households. Interviewees reported spending extra time and energy arranging family visits. Their choices about visiting parents frequently led to both feelings of guilt about the allocation of family time and a reduced sense of family cohesion. Ongoing logistical difficulties were much more commonly cited by young adults than painful feelings.

This qualitative investigation of distress suggests a significant re-orientation toward our understanding of the consequences of parental divorce is needed.

This paper focuses on recent research and a series of field studies looking at the issue of learning difficulties among the Black and minority ethnic population. The research considers the hypothesis that Black and minority ethnic people experience the same levels of learning difficulty as the rest of the population. Some studies suggest that general prevalence may actually be higher, and that multiple incidence may be more frequent among certain minority ethnic communities. The literature indicates that Black and minority ethnic communities are much less aware of what services are available, take‐up is lower still, and there is a common view that services are unwelcoming or inappropriate.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between children who are at risk of being or who have been excluded from school between the ages of 4 and 12 years and the role of psychopathology, development and attainment.

A case-control approach was conducted. Cases were children who had been excluded from school compared to those who had no reported exclusions and normative data where possible. A range of measures were used to collect information from the parent, child and teacher on areas covering the child’s mental health and well-being.

The findings showed the number of difficulties faced by children who are at risk of being or who have been excluded from school compared to gender- and age-matched controls and normative data increased. Behavioural difficulties were apparent in the majority of the cases and an alarming number of children reported self-harm. Interestingly nearly all the cases had recognised needs, but not all of them were accessing appropriate services.

There have been a number of changes regarding the identification and support of children’s mental health and well-being. This study highlights gaps in resources and provision, particularly around behavioural difficulties for children who are presenting as not coping in school.

The findings from the SKIP study indicate the complexities and compounded difficulties faced by children who are experiencing exclusion from school. By implementing a systematic group of assessments the study was able to identify these complexities of need across a vulnerable group of children.

Case formulation has gained increasing prominence as a guide to intervention across a range of clinical problems. It offers a contrasting orientation to diagnosis and its value is considered in the context of clinical work with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this paper is to argue that case formulation integrating attachment, systemic and narrative perspectives offers a valuable way forward in assisting people with the diagnosis and their families.

The literature on ASD and related conditions is reviewed to examine levels of co-morbidity, consider the role of parental mental health difficulties and explore the issues inherent with current approaches to diagnosis.

ASD is found to have a high level of co-morbidity with other difficulties, such as anxiety and insecure attachment. Research findings, alongside the authors own clinical experience, are developed to suggest that formulation can allow the possibility of early intervention based on a holistic appraisal of the array of difficulties present prior to a diagnosis.

It is argued that the use of this systemic-attachment formulation approach could offset the exacerbation in ASD and related conditions, and deterioration in families’ mental health, whilst they face long waiting times for a diagnosis.

Understanding the effects trauma has on refugee parents and consequently, their children, is the first step in interrupting the intergenerational transmission of trauma. This study aims to investigate the impacts of parental exposure to trauma pre-settlement on parent and child reports of developmental difficulties as mediated by parental post-traumatic stress symptomology and harsh parenting.

The study included 414 refugee children (age M = 14.04, SD = 2.00; 48.3% female) and their caregivers (age M = 41.78, SD = 5.24, 77% female). The sample was drawn from the Building a New Life in Australia study, a large, representative cohort study of resettled refugees in Australia. Only data collected where both parents and their children could be matched were used in this study.

Results indicated that trauma was significantly associated with increased parental post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in all models and was negatively, albeit weakly, associated with lower levels of harsh parenting in the overall model which combined parent and child reports. Trauma also had a weak, positive indirect effect on developmental difficulties via parental PTSD in both the overall model and the model assessing parent-rated developmental difficulties. In all models, harsh parenting was associated with increased developmental difficulties, although harsh parenting did not act as a significant mediator of the effects of trauma or parental PTSD.

Results suggest that prior traumas had less of an adverse effect on parenting and child adjustment as was expected. Parenting, however, was strongly associated with poor child adjustment, indicating that this may be a key factor to encourage positive adjustment for refugee children.

The Helping Children Achieve study is a randomised controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of parenting interventions for children at risk of anti‐social behaviour. The paper aims to examine the challenges in recruitment to the HCA trial.

The study is on‐going and is being conducted at two sites: an inner city London borough and a city in the South West of England. In total, 395 participants consented to participate in the trial; 325 were assessed at baseline and 215 met the criteria and agreed to take part. Recruitment used population screens and referrals.

The screening procedure was more labour intensive but attracted greater numbers, including many parents who might not otherwise have sought help and included many families from disadvantaged backgrounds. The referrals included those with more serious problems and a higher proportion engaged with the service. Recruitment rates were lower in the London site due to ineligibility and greater difficulty in accessing schools. Retention in the two areas was similar.

The study provides data on recruitment challenges and lessons learned that could help formulate future policy regarding service delivery. Also of value is the finding that it is possible to conduct population screens in very deprived, multi‐ethnic areas and to get high rates of return.

Although parenting skills can improve the management and behaviour of children, it is not clear if such changes alter the fundamental sense of relationship within the family, particularly when used with young teenagers. This study reports the impact upon family functioning, as measured by the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Questionnaire (FACES), of a parenting programme and a self‐esteem programme for young people.The family functioning of young people with conduct difficulties was assessed before and after intervention with either the young person attending a self‐esteem programme, or the mother attending a parenting programme. The results show that despite changes in behaviour and parenting approaches, underlying family functioning was little changed, either from the parents' or the young people's perspective. For older children at least it is important to combine parenting programmes with interventions that change underlying emotional links within the family.