Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T16:19:07.694Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Relative Timing of Psychiatric Disorder in Parents and Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Paul Hobbs*
Affiliation:
Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, Dundee DD2 5NF, Scotland

Summary

The high incidence of psychiatric disorder in parents of disturbed children is usually explained in reactive terms implying a relationship in time. The records of children attending a child psychiatric service and the psychiatric records of their parents were examined and the time between episodes of illness in parent and child were calculated. Fathers' illnesses preceded those of their daughters, but in general, there was little evidence of any close relationship

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berg, I., Butler, A. & Pritchard, J. (1974) Psychiatric illness in the mothers of school-phobic adolescents. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 466–7.Google Scholar
Britton, R. S. (1969) Psychiatric disorder in mothers of disturbed children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 10, 245–58.Google Scholar
Buck, C. W. & Laughton, K. B. (1959) Family patterns of illness: the effect of psychoneurosis in the parent upon illness in the child. Acta Psychiatrica et Neurologica Scandinavica, 34, 166–75.Google Scholar
Cantwell, P. (1972) Psychiatric illness in families of hyperactive children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 27, 414–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chawla, P. L. & Gupt, K. (1979) A comparative study of parents of emotionally disturbed and normal children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 406–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohler, B. J., Grunebaum, H. U., Weiss, J. L., Hartman, C. R. & Gallant, D. H. (1976) Child-care attitudes and adaptation to maternal role among mentally-ill and well mothers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 46, 123–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, S. F., Leach, C., Storer, D. & Tonge, W. L. (1977) Children of psychiatric patients—clinical findings. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 514–22.Google Scholar
Cowie, V. (1961) The incidence of neurosis in children of psychotics. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 37, 3787.Google Scholar
Hare, E. H. & Shaw, G. K. (1965) A study in family health 2: fathers, mothers and children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 467–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kellner, R. (1963) Family Ill Health. London: Tavistock Publications.Google Scholar
McKnew, D. H., Cytryn, L., Efron, A. M., Gershon, E. S. & Bunney, W. E. (1979) Offspring of patients with affective disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 148–52.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1966) Children of Sick Parents—an environmental and psychiatric study. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1970) Sex differences in response to family stress. In The Child in his Family (eds. Anthony, E. J. and Koupernick, C.). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Stewart, M. A. & Leone, L. (1978) Family study of unsocialised aggressive boys. Biological Psychiatry, 13, 107–17.Google ScholarPubMed
Stewart, M. A., Deblois, C. S. & Cummings, C. (1980) Psychiatric disorder in the parents of hyperactive boys and those with conduct disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 21, 283–92.Google Scholar
Wolff, S. & Acton, W. P. (1968) Characteristics of parents of disturbed children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 593601.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.