Carol Delaney at Edinburgh Napier University, wrote to us asking for ADDers.org help with the following study.
Carol writes,
"Hi, my name is Carol Delaney and, as part of my 4th year honours project at Edinburgh Napier University, I am comparing coping styles used by caregivers of children under 18. By caregiver I mean caring for a child or children under the age of 18 in a significant way.By additional need I am including ADD & ADHD as well as physical or medical difficulties such as cerebral palsy, diabetes or cancer and cognitive and developmental demands such as learning difficulties and Autism or sensory impairment or mental health difficulties such as depression or eating disorders. There is an opportunity to comment if someone is awaiting diagnosis, prefer not to label their child or add anything relevant to their situation.
The survey requirements are that participants have to be:
1) a caregiver of any children under the age of 18 and 2) a resident of UK or ROI
The survey should take about 20 minutes to complete and participants will be asked to respond to questions and statements relating to additional needs, coping strategies, attachment styles and support systems used when caring for the child or children.
The information given is completely confidential and anonymous and will be used for research purposes only. It isn't possible to identify individual participant replies. There is right to withdraw presented on each page of the survey until final submission as once response is submitted it is impossible to identify individual responses, completion indicates acceptance of anonymous participation. The anonymous data will only be accessible to myself and members of the research team at Edinburgh Napier University. If the findings are published, confidentiality and anonymity is assured.
If anyone wishes to see a summary of the findings, contact details will be provided at the end of the survey.
On a personal note, I am a mature student and have 3 boys with a range of additional challenges including asperger's syndrome, depression and dyspraxia. This survey is investigating the best coping skills used by caregivers as I believe that a more comprehensive study is needed to understand the impact that different additional needs have on personal coping skills utilised.
Kind regards
Carol Delaney"
Click here to complete the survey