Abstract
D.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing)
Children with behavioural problems, particularly those with such externalising disorders as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), can adversely affect their mothers’ mental health. The findings of the previous study conducted by the researcher revealed that the mothers of children living with ADHD experienced psychological stress while caring for their children, resulting in feelings of a loss of control, loss of self-esteem, devastation and the need for family support. They also experienced ambivalence between their love for their children and the feeling of failing these children. Furthermore, the findings depicted that the mothers experienced a lack of knowledge about ADHD but had faith in God for a miracle to happen while they faced a deep concern about the future of their children. These findings displayed that caring for children living with ADHD can be very challenging when the mothers’ own emotional and health needs are under strain. Therefore, a research question was formulated based on the above findings: what can be done to facilitate the mental health of the mothers of children living with ADHD? The purpose of this study was to develop, describe, implement and evaluate a model to facilitate the mental health of the mothers of children living with ADHD. A theorygenerating, qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design was utilised. A postmodern constructivist philosophy of science was adhered to in this research design. The research was conducted over four steps. In Step One, the central concept “facilitation of self-directedness” was identified from the researcher’s minor dissertation results on the experiences of mothers of children living with ADHD. The central concept was defined by means of identifying essential attributes from dictionaries and subject literature. The defined central concept was classified using Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach’s survey list. In Step Two, the concepts were placed into relationships. Relational statements were developed as follows: The psychiatric nurse facilitates the self-directedness of the mothers of children living with ADHD. The psychiatric nurse creates a participative environment to make the process easier for the mothers of children living with ADHD. During the process, the mothers of children living with ADHD are enabled to mobilise resources. This process enhances the psychological maturation of the mothers of children living with ADHD. The mothers’...