Development and evaluation of an educational resource for parents of children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome about the psychiatric manifestations of the condition

Abstract

Parents of children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) report concern about the psychiatric manifestations of the condition, but typically receive little information about this in clinical encounters and instead find information about it elsewhere. We developed an educational booklet about the psychiatric manifestations of 22q11DS and assessed its utility among parents of children with the condition. First, six parents of individuals with 22q11DS completed cognitive interviews to review an established generic booklet about the genetics of psychiatric conditions—and to suggest 22q11DS‐specific adaptations. We used these suggestions to develop a novel booklet specific to psychiatric conditions and 22q1DS. Then, before and 1‐month after reading the novel 22q11DS‐specific online booklet, 73 parents of children with 22q11DS (with/without psychiatric conditions) completed validated scales (measuring empowerment, stigma, intolerance of uncertainty), an adapted version of a scale measuring worry about their child developing psychiatric illness, and purpose‐designed items assessing perceptions of understanding of 22q11DS and mental illness, confidence in recognizing early signs, etc. After reading the 22q11DS online booklet, participants' feelings of empowerment increased (p = 0.002), while feelings of worry about their child developing psychiatric illness decreased (p = 0.05), and they reported better understanding 22q11DS and mental illness, and increased confidence in recognizing early warning signs. There is potential benefit in broadly distributing this educational booklet to parents of children with 22q11DS.