ABSTRACT
Children of mentally ill parents have increased rates of psychopathology and reduced adaptive functioning. However, there are very few studies examining the subjective experiences of those children and their opinions concerning their previous contact with psychiatric services. This study followed up a group of children of former psychiatric inpatients by sending them a questionnaire asking about their experiences. Thirty-six individuals responded. Answers were analysed qualitatively by using manifest content analysis. Participants reported negative experiences and lack of information and support from psychiatric care. They had wanted more explanations and more support for themselves. Quantitative data are used to establish the significance of the results.
Subject(s)
Adult Children , Attitude to Health , Child of Impaired Parents , Mental Disorders/therapy , Mental Health Services , Adaptation, Psychological , Adult , Adult Children/psychology , Child , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Emotions , Female , Humans , Male , Parent-Child Relations , Professional-Family Relations , SwedenABSTRACT
The social competence and emotional/behavioural problems among 80 5-16-year-old children of 46 inpatients with various psychiatric disorders were assessed by the parents using a Swedish version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The ratings of these children were compared to a normative sample of school children, but also whether type of psychiatric disorder among the parents was related to psychosocial functioning in their children. Fifty percent of the parents had a psychotic disorder; other common diagnoses were depressive, neurosis or personality disorders. Overall, children of psychiatric inpatients were perceived by the parents to be less socially competent and to have more emotional/ behavioural problems than school children in the same age groups. However, 25% of the children of psychiatric parents were rated as having more severe problems (corresponding to the 90th percentile of the normative sample). About 15% of the children had total problem levels comparable to child psychiatric samples, but only 5% did actually receive ongoing help from the child psychiatric service. Parents with a depressive disorder or a crisis reaction also regarded their children to be more anxious/depressed, and to have more social problems than those of parents with other psychiatric disorders. Four CBCL items were found to be strong predictors of being a child of a psychiatric parent or parent in the normative sample. We suggest that the CBCL might be a valuable clinical tool in the screening and identification of those children of psychiatrically ill parents, who show more extreme problem scores and therefore might need help because of psychological problems.
Subject(s)
Parent-Child Relations , Personality Disorders , Social Behavior , Adolescent , Adult , Affective Symptoms , Child , Family Health , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/complications , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
With limited orthodontic manpower in an area, treatment resources may be allocated to deal with a restricted number of patients, e.g. those with the most severe malocclusions, or to treat a greater number of patients by letting the specialist supervised treatment delivered by non-specialists. The purpose of the present study was to examine orthodontic concern among young adults in a region where orthodontic treatment was mainly delivered by non-specialists. The material comprised 100 individuals born in 1971 and 1972 (mean age 18.0 years) who were consecutively examined and interviewed during their annual routine dental visits. Forty subjects (19 females, 21 males) had previous orthodontic treatment. In all but four individuals treatment was delivered by general dental practitioners. Impressions for dental study casts and standardized photographs (Polaroids) were taken. The individual's occlusion was classified according to two methods: the Need for Orthodontic Treatment Index (NOTI) and Anterior Occlusal Traits (AOT). Interviews concerning the subjects' perception of their occlusion were performed with the use of questionnaires. From the answers a composite measure representing orthodontic concern was constructed. Awareness of their own dental arrangement was assessed by comparing the respondents' reports with occlusal recordings from the study casts, and by a photo-identification test. Frequencies of NOTI and AOT scores demonstrated that more than 50 per cent of the treated individuals were still assessed to be in need of treatment and exhibited deviations in the anterior region. Furthermore, 30 per cent of the treated subjects expressed concern about their occlusal appearance, and dissatisfaction was generally based on a realistic perception of their own dental appearance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
