Connell points to a significant upward trend in the rates of children experiencing anxiety.
As a trained mental health nurse for over two decades, University College Dublin (UCD) PhD student Sandra Connell has turned her attention to developing an online resource for parents of children experiencing mental health difficulties.
“My professional journey began in 2003 when I trained as a mental health nurse. The experience sparked my interest in mental health education and led me to higher education,” said Connell, who spent several years teaching mental health nursing at UK universities. He returned to Ireland and took up the same role at UCD.
Her current doctoral research into adolescent mental health is supported by the UCD Foundation through a generous donation from Cycle Against Suicide.
What inspired you to become a researcher?
My interest in research first became apparent when I worked on two projects early in my academic career. I had the opportunity to search for two experienced professors, observe how they deal with questions, structured studies and work with others for the purpose of the project and I found this motivation.
Although my role at the time was mainly teaching and learning, I found myself fascinated by the way they used research.
The real spark came later when I took on the role of research assistant. I realized how much I enjoyed gathering information and a rich understanding of people’s experiences. That combination of structure, curiosity and interpretation felt like a natural fit and ultimately led me to pursue a PhD.
Can you tell us about the research you are currently working on?
The PhD I am currently undertaking is a doctoral scholarship in youth mental health, supported by the UCD Foundation with a generous donation from Cycle Against Suicide.
The project began with a broad objective – to design, develop and test an online resource for parents of children with mental health problems. Guided by the Irish country review and extensive academic literature, I found myself drawn to the experiences of parents of anxious primary school children, and how to best support them.
In the early stages of the research, the project naturally changed into a more focused direction – creating a digital resource to support parents in supporting their child. The project is built on continuous learning, co-design and a growing understanding of what parents like and need in those early, often uncertain times.
In your opinion, why is your research important?
This research is important because of the significant upward trend in the rates of children experiencing anxiety beyond normal anxiety, to levels that interfere with their daily lives and place additional stress on their parents.
This occurs against a backdrop of multifaceted support barriers including inequity in service provision, long waiting lists, and general uncertainty among parents about how to seek help or seek it.
Many families may also find themselves in a difficult situation; their child is struggling, but not at a level that meets diagnostic criteria for formal support. This leaves parents looking for support and guidance at a time when they already often feel uncertain, alone, and overwhelmed. Intervention with parents, especially children at this age, can be very important.
Parents are often the people who spend the most time with the child, notice changes early, and are tasked with reaching out for help for their child. By strengthening parents’ understanding, confidence, and sense of ability to respond to their child’s concerns we hope to create meaningful change.
The goal is to create an accessible, user-centered digital resource that meets parents where they are, provides something that works, is based on what parents say they need, and is designed in a way that encourages engagement and helpfulness.
What commercial applications do you foresee for your research?
My aim is to keep this resource free and accessible to parents, reduce barriers and provide a support resource that is easy to access, reliable and available when needed.
Therefore, I do not see trade as the direction of this work.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a researcher in your field?
In this first phase, as a PhD student, one of my biggest challenges is being able to balance the different parts of the research process, namely reading, planning, collecting data, analyzing, while managing uncertainty and maintaining a clear sense of method.
I am fortunate to have a supportive director and his guidance makes navigating those challenges feel more manageable.
What are some of the research areas you would like to see addressed in the coming years?
Because my project focuses on supporting parents to support their child, the outcomes I measure are mainly related to parents, their self-confidence, their awareness and the perception of whether the resource is useful.
Once completed it would be great to see this expanded, bringing children into the process to further refine or transform the resource.
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