Supporting parents of children and young people with anxiety and depressive disorders, an opportunity not to be missed: A scoping review.

Abstract

There is limited guidance on whether and how to involve parents in treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and young people (CYP). We conducted a scoping review of randomized controlled trials of psychological interventions for anxiety and depressive disorders in CYP, where parents were involved in treatment to identify how parents and carers have been involved in treatment of anxiety and depression in CYP, how this relates to both child and broader outcomes, and where research should focus.We identified 73 trials: 62 focused on anxiety and 11 on depressive disorders. How parents were involved in treatments varied greatly, with at least 13 different combinations of ways of involving parents in 62 anxiety trials and 7 different combinations among 11 depression trials. Including parents in treatment did not impair CYP outcomes, however wide variability in how parents were involved prevents clarity about why some trials favoured parent involvement and others did not. Furthermore, studies must consider long-term and wider benefits beyond CYP mental health such as enhanced engagement, family well-being and economic gains.