Update on Mental Health of Infants and Children of Parents Affected With Mental Health Issues

Abstract

This paper highlights the most recent publications, in the field of psychiatry, on offspring of patients with psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and then summarizes what we know about the progeny of adults with mood disorders, the most prevalent of parental disorders. Studies examining personality disorders and contextual factors such as stress and trauma are examined with a focus on the crucial question of development and attachment status in children. Findings converge to reveal that offspring of parents (generally mothers) with most major psychiatric disorders present a higher risk for all mental disorders, and a wide range of disorders are also found in children, adolescent, and finally adult offspring of mothers with mood and anxiety disorders. Developmental psychopathology and infant and child psychiatry have focused on early relationship formation through social interaction and attachment patterns as pathways affected by vulnerability or resilience factors. First year of life longitudinal studies following mothers and infants has shown that maternal psychopathology is positively correlated with higher risk of attachment issues. It would seem that pathology appears when adaptation to real-life contexts becomes difficult in association with an accumulation of negative individual characteristics and environmental circumstances. We suggest that in order to move forward psychiatry should embrace a developmental cascade model, which posits a cumulative pathway for the emergence of psychopathology in the developing child. We propose that we have sufficient knowledge today to start implementing multilevel approaches to enhance the health and mental health of the next generation.

Parents in Control: Parental perceptions of problem behaviors before and after attending an ADHD‐specific parent‐training program

“…The parenting intervention consisted of three 2-hr sessions of the intervention "1-2-3 Magic" which contains "some ADHD-specific aspects." This should not be underestimated as it is likely that parental stress has a significant impact on parental and child mental health (Apter, Bobin, Genet, Gratier, & Devouche, 2017;Scott, 2012). Another study looking at the effect of the IY program within a CAMHS setting found similar ES on ECBI scores as the present study (Kleve et al, 2011).…”

“…The use of parent-report measures in this population is important to capture the wider impact of ADHD beyond the core symptoms. This should not be underestimated as it is likely that parental stress has a significant impact on parental and child mental health (Apter, Bobin, Genet, Gratier, & Devouche, 2017;Scott, 2012).…”

Trennung der Eltern – Liegt die Hauptbelastung in der Kumulation mit anderen Kindheitsbelastungen? Untersuchung einer repräsentativen Stichprobe der deutschen Bevölkerung

“…Gefängnisaufenthalte von Eltern sind mit einer starken Verminderung des Eltern-Kind Kontaktes verbunden und können zu deutlichen Beeinträchtigungen in der Eltern-Kind Beziehung [35] sowie der psychischen Gesundheit der Kinder führen [36]. Dass auch psychische Erkrankungen und Substanzmittelabusus von Haushaltsmitgliedern einen massiven Einfluss auf die psychische Gesundheit von betroffenen Kindern und Jugendlichen ausüben, wurde vielfach gezeigt [37,38].…”

Self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in Portuguese primary school-aged children

“…Poverty, or a socioeconomically disadvantageous status, is a known risk factor for depression and anxiety symptoms among children [14][15][16]. Children whose mothers have been diagnosed with a major psychiatric disorder, also seem to present an increased risk for the development of mental problems [17], particularly for mother's major depression disorder [18,19]. Childhood obesity is another factor that might be associated with children mental health.…”