Background
Parents and caregivers play key roles in recognising early signs of mental distress and facilitating access to support, yet often lack the confidence and knowledge to respond effectively. Gatekeeper training programs can improve skills, but few are specifically designed for parents. The aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of the Recognise, Respond and Support – A Parent’s Guide to Youth Mental Health resource in improving parental capacity to support their child’s mental health.
Methods
A two-arm randomised controlled trial was conducted with Australian parents and caregivers of children aged 5–17 years. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and 12-week follow-up. The primary endpoint was parental self-efficacy to recognise, respond to, and access support for mental health problems and suicide risk in their child/ren at post-intervention. Secondary outcomes included perceived gatekeeper knowledge, mental health and suicide literacy, stigma, and help-seeking attitudes, intentions and barriers. The trial was prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12623000933651).
Results
A total of 509 participants were recruited (97% female; mean age 43 years). At post-intervention, mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVA indicated significant intervention effects for self-efficacy for mental health (p = .04) and suicide (p = .01), perceived knowledge (p < .001), barriers to help-seeking (p = .02) and suicide stigma (p = .02) and literacy (p = .01), with some effects maintained at 12-week follow-up. No significant changes were observed for mental health literacy and stigma, or help-seeking attitudes or intentions.
Conclusions
Gatekeeper training targeted to parents and caregivers can be effective in improving participant confidence and knowledge to support their child’s mental health. Future research would benefit from identifying strategies to improve participant engagement with web-based interventions.