Youth Mental Health Recovery in the Family After Inpatient Stay (ReCoVer)

Reintegration, Coping, and Care of Families After Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Treatment

The goal of this longitudinal mixed-methods study is to investigate caregiver strain, family processes and health outcomes after youth psychiatric inpatient treatment. Caregivers of youth who received inpatient treatment for mental health problems will complete a survey at three timepoints (baseline, 3- and 6- month followup) reporting on youth outcomes, caregiver well-being, and family processes. Qualitative interviews on caregivers' challenges, needs, and resources around the return to home care are conducted with a subsample (target n = 10) of participants.

The main research questions (RQs) are:

RQ 1: Do family processes contribute to youth mental health outcomes after discharge from inpatient treatment? RQ 1a: What family-level risk factors predict youth readmission to inpatient treatment? RQ 1b: Do family processes predict youth mental health trajectories over time? RQ 2: Is there a reciprocal relationship between youth mental health problems and caregiver burden? RQ 2a: Do family processes mediate the association between caregiver burden and youth mental health problems? RQ 3: How do caregivers experience their children's return to home care? RQ 3a: What challenges and needs do caregivers report? RQ 3b: What types of follow-up services do families receive and/or have access to? RQ 3c: How do caregivers cope with ongoing difficulties in the post-discharge period?

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Caregiver Burden; Family Characteristics; Parent-Child Interactions

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 70

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Amos-Silvio E Friedrich; Phone Number: +43 1-4277-47286; Email: amos.friedrich@univie.ac.at

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

primary caregivers (parents or guardians regardless of the biological relationship to the child) of children and adolescents who received inpatient psychiatric treatment

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older
• primary caregiver of a child or adolescent aged 7-21 years of any gender who received inpatient treatment in a psychiatric institution in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland (min. 24 h stay) within the past month (regardless of the diagnosis or the reason for the treatment, respectively)
• lived with the child or adolescent in the same household since discharge

Exclusion Criteria:

• another caregiver of the same child has already participated in the study
• insufficient knowledge of German

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
caregivers; primary caregivers of youth who received inpatient psychiatric treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Youth mental health	Caregiver-reported youth internalizing and externalizing problems (assessed using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist)	Change from baseline (T0) to 3-month (T1) and 6-month (T2) follow-up
Inpatient readmission	Occurrence (and admission date) of inpatient mental health treatment after discharge	Within 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Youth health-related quality of life	Quality of life related to self-esteem, school, and peer relationships (assessed using the KINDL-R)	Change from baseline (T0) to 3-month (T1) and 6-month (T2) follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Vienna
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Martina Zemp, Professor, University of Vienna

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 5, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 5, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Caregiver Burden
• Other Study ID Numbers: 01291

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No