ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Children of depressed and/or anxious parents are at increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders. Little research has focused on screening parents bringing their children for psychiatric evaluation, and few studies have included fathers or Hispanic children. This study had the following aims: 1) to identify current symptom rates in parents bringing their children for evaluation; and 2) to determine whether parental symptoms were associated with children's symptoms, diagnoses, and functioning. METHOD: The sample included 801 mothers, 182 fathers, and 848 children (aged 6 through 17 years). The majority (55.66%) were Hispanic, who attended a child and adolescent psychiatric evaluation service. Parent and child symptoms were assessed via parental reports. Children's diagnoses and functioning were determined by clinicians. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether severity of parental symptoms was associated with clinical child variables adjusting for child and parent demographic variables. RESULTS: In all, 18.80% of mothers and 18.42% of fathers reported elevated internalizing symptoms. Maternal symptoms were significantly associated with problems in children's functioning and children's anxiety, depression, and oppositional/conduct diagnoses; but not attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Adjusting for parental and child demographics had a reduction on the effect of maternal symptoms on child depression. Paternal symptoms and functioning were positively associated with children's diagnoses, but the associations were smaller and not significant. Both parents' symptoms were significantly associated with children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. However, these significant effects were not moderated by marital status or child ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of screening parents when their children receive a psychiatric evaluation. The findings support the development of mental health services that address psychiatric needs of the entire family within one clinical setting.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Fathers/psychology , Mass Screening , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mothers/psychology , Adolescent , Black or African American/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/ethnology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/ethnology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/ethnology , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/ethnology , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Conduct Disorder/diagnosis , Conduct Disorder/ethnology , Conduct Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/ethnology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Hispanic or Latino/psychology , Humans , Internal-External Control , Interview, Psychological , Male , Mental Disorders/ethnology , Mental Disorders/psychology , New York City , Personality Assessment/statistics & numerical data , Personality Inventory/statistics & numerical data , Psychometrics , Risk Factors , White People/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare glucose and lipid metabolism parameters between drug-naïve first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder and healthy controls matched for age, ethnicity, and gender. METHOD: Baseline evaluations of fasting glucose and lipid metabolism parameters and the oral glucose tolerance test were performed with FEP patients (n=38), having no more than 10 days of cumulative exposure to antipsychotic medication, and normal community controls (n=36). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine between group differences. RESULTS: FEP patients did not show a higher prevalence of the precursors to diabetes (impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance), and no significant difference in beta-cell function or lipid profile measures, compared to healthy controls. FEP patients showed a higher waist to hip ratio compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: FEP patients having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder do not differ from healthy controls, in their baseline measures of glucose and lipid metabolites, nor in the prevalence of diabetes or its precursors, before (or close to) the onset of antipsychotic treatment.
