Predictors of Workforce Attitudes to Including a Child Perspective in the Treatment of Mentally Ill Parents

OpenAIRE

Lauritzen, Camilla; Reedtz, Charlotte; Martinussen, Monica; vanDoesum, Karin

2012-01-01

Children of parents with a mental illness are at risk of developing mental health problems themselves (Beardslee, Versage & Gladstone, 1998; Hosman, van Doesum, & van Santvoort, 2009; Reupert & Maybery, 2007). In order to prevent children of mentally ill parents from developing serious problems, it is therefore beneficial to include a child perspective in the treatment of mentally ill parents by identifying the children of patients, and supporting patients in their parenting role. Norwegia...

Prevalence of psychopathology in children of parents with mental illness and/or addiction: an up to date narrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Leijdesdorff, Sophie; van Doesum, Karin; Popma, Arne; Klaassen, Rianne; van Amelsvoort, Therese

2017-07-01

Children of parents with a mental illness and/or addiction are at high risk for developing a mental illness themselves. Parental mental illness is highly prevalent leading to a serious number of children at high risk. The aim of this review is to give an up-to-date overview of psychopathology in children of parents with various mental illnesses and/or addiction, based on recent literature. Worldwide, 15-23% of children live with a parent with a mental illness. These children have up to 50% chance of developing a mental illness. Parental anxiety disorder sets children at a more specific risk for developing anxiety disorder themselves, where children of parents with other mental illnesses are at high risk of a large variety of mental illnesses. Although preventive interventions in children of mentally ill parents may decrease the risk of problem development by 40%; currently, these children are not automatically identified and offered help. This knowledge should encourage mental health services to address the needs of these children which requires strong collaboration between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Adult Mental Health Services. Directions for further research would be to include both parents, allow for comorbidity and to look deeper into a broader variety of mental illnesses such as autism and personality disorder other than borderline.

[Characteristics of interactions between mentally ill parents and their young children].

Science.gov (United States)

Deneke, Christiane; Lüders, Bettina

2003-03-01

Disturbed parent infant interactions are frequently seen in cases of parental mental illness. They are indicating possible risks of the infant's development. Regular and illness-specific patterns are not found. Therefore the interaction has to be observed and classified in each individual case to recognize the relevance of the parental illness to the child. Different interaction patterns and their impact on the child's development are described and illustrated by case vignettes. The importance of preventive intervention is highlighted.

The Stigmatization of Mental Illness in Children and Parents. Data Trends #124

Science.gov (United States)

Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health, 2005

2005-01-01

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" reviews theory and research on stigma and mental health with a focus on the stigmatization of mental illness in the family when either a child or a parent has a mental illness.…

Parents, Mental Illness, and the Primary Health Care of Infants and Young Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenichel, Emily, Ed.

1993-01-01

This bulletin issue contains five papers on the theme of adults with mental illness who are parents of very young children. "Parents, Mental Illness, and the Primary Health Care of Infants and Young Children" (John N. Constantino) offers the experience of a trainee in a combined residency in pediatrics and psychiatry, focusing on…

Needs, expectations and consequences for children growing up in a family where the parent has a mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabak, Izabela; Zabłocka-Żytka, Lidia; Ryan, Peter; Poma, Stefano Zanone; Joronen, Katja; Viganò, Giovanni; Simpson, Wendy; Paavilainen, Eija; Scherbaum, Norbert; Smith, Martin; Dawson, Ian

2016-08-01

The lack of pan-European guidelines for empowering children of parents with mental illness led to the EU project CAMILLE - Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The aim of this initial task in the project was to analyse needs, expectations and consequences for children with respect to living with a parent with mental illness from the perspective of professionals and family members. This qualitative research was conducted in England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Scotland with 96 professionals, parents with mental illness, adult children and partners of parents with mental illness. A framework analysis method was used. Results of the study highlighted that the main consequences described for children of parental mental illness were role reversal; emotional and behavioural problems; lack of parent's attention and stigma. The main needs of these children were described as emotional support, security and multidisciplinary help. Implications for practice are that professionals working with parents with mental illness should be aware of the specific consequences for the children and encourage parents in their parental role; multi-agency collaboration is necessary; schools should provide counselling and prevent stigma. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

[Between taking responsibility and becoming independent. Adolescents with a mentally ill parent].

Science.gov (United States)

Stelling, Kirsten; Habers, Ingeborg; Jungbauer, Johannes

2008-01-01

By now there is a relatively broadly based basic research as to burden and developmental risks in children of mentally ill parents. Nevertheless, hardly any studies exist focusing the living situation of teenagers concerned. This article presents results from an in-depth interview study with 15 adolescents (15 to 21 years old) who have a mentally ill parent. Particularly, the living situation of the study participants was explored from the perspective of developmental psychology, i. e. considering age-specific developmental tasks. The results show that, in many cases, daily life and future perspectives of adolescents are greatly affected by the mental illness of a parent. Based on the results of the study, the article presents conclusions for further research and psychosocial practice. Generally, professional assistance for children of mentally ill people should be on hand as early as possible. When planning specific help offers for adolescents affected, compatibility to their emotional life-world should be taken into consideration. Involving peer counsellors and offering web-based psychological assistance can contribute to better get in touch with adolescent clients.

Children of mentally ill parents-a pilot study of a group intervention program.

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Hanna; Anding, Jana; Schrott, Bastian; Röhrle, Bernd

2015-01-01

The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most prominent risk factors for the development of psychological disorders. Children of mentally ill parents are a vulnerable high risk group with overall impaired development and high rates of psychological disorders. To date there are only a few evidence based intervention programs for this group overall and hardly any in Germany. We translated the evidence based Family Talk Intervention by Beardslee (2009) and adapted it for groups. First results of this pilot study are presented. This investigation evaluates a preventive group intervention for children of mentally ill parents. In a quasi-experimental design three groups are compared: an intervention group (Family Talk Intervention group: n = 28), a Wait Control group (n = 9), and a control group of healthy children (n = 40). Mean age of children was 10.41 years and parental disorders were mostly depressive/affective disorders (n = 30), but a small number also presented with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (n = 7). Children of mentally ill parents showed higher rates of internalizing/externalizing disorders before and after the intervention compared to children of parents with no disorders. Post intervention children's knowledge on mental disorders was significantly enhanced in the Family Talk Intervention group compared to the Wait Control group and the healthy control group. Parental ratings of externalizing symptoms in the children were reduced to normal levels after the intervention in the Family Talk Intervention group, but not in the Wait Control group. This pilot study of a group intervention for children of mentally ill parents highlights the importance of psycho-education on parental mental disorders for children. Long-term effects of children's enhanced knowledge about parental psychopathology need to be explored in future studies.

The SMILES program: a group program for children with mentally ill parents or siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitman, Erica; Matthey, Stephen

2004-07-01

The Simplifying Mental Illness + Life Enhancement Skills program, for children with a mentally ill parent or sibling, is a 3-day program that aims to increase children's knowledge of mental illness and to better equip them with life skills considered beneficial for coping in their family. Self-report data from 25 children who attended 3 of these programs, in Canada and Australia, indicate that these aims were achieved. Their parents also report benefits for their children.

The forum as a friend: parental mental illness and communication on open Internet forums.

Science.gov (United States)

Widemalm, My; Hjärthag, Fredrik

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to identify how daughters or sons to parents suffering from mental illness perceive their situation. The objective was to provide new knowledge based on what they communicate on open Internet forums. The sample consisted of forum posts written by individuals who reported that they had mentally ill parents. Data collection comprised 301 comments from 35 forum threads on 5 different Swedish Internet forums, and predetermined inclusion criteria were used. Data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The analysis generated four themes: "Caregiver burden," "Knowledge seeking," "Support from the forum," and "Frustration and powerlessness over health care." The results showed that parents' mental illness affected the forum writers on several levels, and they often felt stigmatized. The writers often lacked knowledge of their parents' mental illness and sought out Internet forums for information and support from peers in similar situations. The psychiatric care given to the parents was a source of dissatisfaction among the forum writers, who often felt that their parents did not receive adequate care. This study shows that fear of stigmatization and perceived lack of care and support caused forum writers to anonymously seek out Internet forums for information and support from others with similar experiences. The role of social support and the attractiveness of anonymity and availability typical for open Internet forums ought to be considered by health care professionals and researchers when developing new ways for providing support for children or adolescents with a mentally ill parent.

[Do Attachment Styles of Mentally Ill Parents Impact on the Health-related Quality of Life of their Children?].

Science.gov (United States)

Wiegand-Grefe, Silke; Bomba, Franziska; Tönnies, Sven; Bullinger, Monika; Plass, Angela

2016-01-01

Do Attachment Styles of Mentally Ill Parents Impact on the Health-related Quality of Life of their Children? Parents with a mental disorder often display a problematic attachment style which may impact on their children's health related quality of life (HrQoL). The current study cross-sectionally examines attachment styles (BEPE) in mentally ill parents with underage children (n = 62) and the effect of attachment on their children's HrQoL (KINDL-R). Results show that secure attachment is less represented in parents with a mental health condition than in a healthy reference group. Within the clinical sample, children of mentally ill parents with a secure attachment style exhibit a higher HrQoL than children of mentally ill parents with ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles. These findings indicate not only that problematic attachment styles frequently occur in families with a mentally ill parent, but also suggest that this negatively affects the children's HrQoL. Appropriate interventions should include attachment oriented concepts.

Strategies for parenting by mothers and fathers with a mental illness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ende, P C; van Busschbach, J T; Nicholson, J; Korevaar, E L; van Weeghel, J

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT: Introduction Understanding of the problems of parents with mental illness is growing. Gaining insight into strategies for parenting, while taking the opportunities formulated by these parents themselves as a starting point is fairly new. Question What are the strategies of parents with a

Adult children of parents with mental illness: Dehumanization of a parent - 'She wasn't the wreck in those years that she was to become later'.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Gillian; Peters, Kath; Wilkes, Lesley; Jackson, Debra

2018-06-01

Children who have lived with parental mental illness experience long-standing reduced health and social outcomes, alongside ongoing personal distress. While there has been some dialogue regarding interventions to support children who are living with parental mental illness, there remains a paucity of knowledge regarding adult children's experiences and potential needs. Given this, the aim of the present study was to establish parenting narratives of adult children who had experienced childhood parental mental illness. This included their experiences of being parented alongside their own subsequent parenting roles. Three men and 10 women, ranging from 30 to 78 years old, met individually with a researcher to tell their stories. Narratives were thematically analysed to establish themes. The findings of the study demonstrated that individuals who have lived with childhood parental mental illness dehumanized their parent with mental illness. The authors argue that all mental health services should be underpinned with a whole of family assessment and care philosophy. There is also a need for all mental health services to consider how policies and procedures might inadvertently dehumanize clients who are parents, which could contribute to familial dehumanization. This could prevent the dehumanization of parents who experience mental illness to preserve parental and child relationships. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Parenting with success and satisfaction among parents with severe mental illness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ende, P.C.; Venderink, Marrie; van Busschbach, J.T.

2010-01-01

Always a complex and demanding task, parenthood can be an extra challenge when parents have severe mental illness. Clients with children may experience extra stress, feelings of uncertainty, and a lack of energy. They may have difficulty in talking about their disabilities with their children.

Young adults' childhood experiences of support when living with a parent with a mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Stefan; Gustafsson, Lisa; Nolbris, Margaretha Jenholt

2015-12-01

There are several concerns in relation to children living with a parent suffering from a mental illness. In such circumstances, the health-care professionals need to involve the whole family, offering help to the parents on parenting as well as support for their children. These children are often helped by participating in meetings that provide them with contact with others with similar experiences. The aim of this study was to investigate young adults' childhood experiences of support groups when living with a mentally ill parent. Seven young women were chosen to participate in this study. A qualitative descriptive method was chosen. The main category emerged as 'the influence of life outside the home because of a parent's mental illness' from the two generic categories: 'a different world' and 'an emotion-filled life'. The participants' friends did not know that their parent was ill and they 'always had to…take responsibility for what happened at home'. These young adults appreciated the support group activities they participated in during their childhood, stating that the meetings had influenced their everyday life as young adults. Despite this, they associated their everyday life with feelings of being different. This study highlights the need for support groups for children whose parents suffer from mental illness. © The Author(s) 2014.

Family matters: infants, toddlers and preschoolers of parents affected by mental illness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kowalenko, N.M.; Mares, S.P.; Newman, L.K.; Williams, A.E.S.; Powrie, R.M.; Doesum, K.T.M. van

2012-01-01

One in five young people in Australia, including infants, toddlers and preschoolers, lives in a family with a parent with a mental illness.1 Families affected by mental illness are more likely than other families to experience poverty and social isolation,2 and are more likely to have children taken

Communal normalization in an online self-help group for adolescents with a mentally ill parent.

Science.gov (United States)

Trondsen, Marianne V; Tjora, Aksel

2014-10-01

Although implications of parental mental illness are well documented, most children of mentally ill parents are left to manage their family situation with limited information and support. We explored the role of a Norwegian online self-help group for adolescents (aged 15 to 18) with a mentally ill parent. Through in-depth interviews with 13 participants, we found that the online self-help group provided "communal normalization" by which participants, through communication in the forum, made sense of everyday experiences and emotions arising from having a mentally ill parent. We identified three main aspects of this process-recognizability, openness, and agency-all of which were important for the adolescents' efforts to obtain support, to be supportive, and to handle everyday life situations better. Communal normalization might provide resources for significantly improving the participants' life situations, and could demonstrate similar potential for users in other situations characterized by stigma, loneliness, silence, and health worries. © The Author(s) 2014.

Care burden of parents of adult children with mental illness: The role of associative stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Keunwoo; Seo, Mikyung

2016-10-01

Parents of offspring with mental illness must endure endless child care burden despite their old age, and must cope with associative stigma. This study analyzed the mediator effect of associative stigma on relationships between the main stressors, psychiatric symptoms and lowered social function of offspring with mental illness, assessed by the parents, and their care burden. 215 parents caring for an adult child with mental illness in Korea were surveyed (Mage=60.68, SD=13.58; 74.4% mothers). They were asked to assess the psychiatric symptoms and social function of their offspring, the stigma they experienced, and the objective/subjective care burdens they felt. Our findings suggest that the symptoms and function of offspring directly affect the care burden of parents, but also have an indirect effect mediated by associative stigma. Among the predictor variables, symptoms have a greater effect on the subjective/objective burden and associative stigma than social function. We suggest strategies for parents to overcome associative stigma and emphasize the professional endeavor required to meet the service needs of elderly parents taking care of an adult child with mental illness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Children of mentally ill parents: the impact of parental psychiatric diagnosis, comorbidity, severity and chronicity on the well-being of children].

Science.gov (United States)

Wiegand-Grefe, S; Geers, P; Petermann, F; Plass, A

2011-01-01

Children of mentally ill parents are known as a high-risk population for the development of psychological disturbances. In this study, the psychiatric diagnoses, the severity and chronicity and the comorbidity of a parental mental illness as well as the non-specific parameters were examined in terms of their influence on the children's mental health. n = 62 children of psychiatric inpatients were examined regarding their psychic symptomatology, assessed with the CBCL-Parent Report Form. The psychiatric ICD-10 diagnoses and comorbidities as well as the severity (CGI) of the mentally ill parents were collected from psychiatric assessment forms. Children of parents with personality disorders (PD) are evaluated as highly affected by their parents, regardless of whether the PD is the primary or the comorbid diagnosis. Children of parents suffering from addictive disorders are seen as the least affected by their parents. Overall, children of parents with multiple diagnoses tend to be rated as more affected. Severity of illness and chronicity do not have a considerable impact on the children's development of mental health problems. Strikingly, children with a high length of exposure to a parental illness are psychologically less affected than children with shorter times of exposure. Thus, children possibly acquire effective coping mechanisms with increasing time of exposure. The results reveal the necessity of preventive programmes, especially in case of personality disorders. In addition the necessity for external assessment of the children becomes clear, especially in those cases where the parents exhibit a poor acceptance of their disease. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Initiating communication about parental mental illness in families: an issue of confidence and security.

Science.gov (United States)

Pihkala, Heljä; Sandlund, Mikael; Cederström, Anita

2012-05-01

Beardslee's family intervention (FI) is a family-based intervention to prevent psychiatric problems for children of mentally ill parents. The parents' experiences are of importance in family-based interventions. Twenty five parents were interviewed about their experiences of FI. Data were analysed by qualitative methods. Confidence and security in the professionals and in FI as a method were prerequisites for initiating communication about the parents' mental illness with the children. FI provides a solid base for an alliance with the parents and might be a practicable method when parenthood and children are discussed with psychiatric patients.

Reflections of Adults on Their School Experiences Growing up with a Severely Mentally Ill Parent

Science.gov (United States)

Leahy, Marie A.

2013-01-01

More than five million children in the United States have a parent suffering from a severe mental illness and these children have specific experiences and needs, particularly in school. Children of mentally ill parents are at greater risk of being neglected and of developing psychological, social, emotional, and behavioral problems. They often…

Parenting and psychiatric rehabilitation : Can parents with severe mental illness benefit from a new approach?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.T. van Busschbach; Dr. Lies Korevaar; J. van Weeghel; Dr. Peter van der Ende; Joanne Nicholson

2014-01-01

Abstract: Objective: The aim of this pilot implementation study was to explore the initial experiences with and impact of Parenting with Success and Satisfaction (PARSS), a psychiatric rehabilitation and recoverybased, guided self-help intervention, for parents with severe mental illnesses. Methods:

Parenting and psychiatric rehabilitation: Can parents with severe mental illness benefit from a new approach?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jaap van Weeghel; Dr. Peter C. van der Ende; Dr. Lies Korevaar; Jooske T. van Busschbach; Joanne Nicholson

2014-01-01

Abstract: Objective: The aim of this pilot implementation study was to explore the initial experiences with and impact of Parenting with Success and Satisfaction (PARSS), a psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery-based, guided self-help intervention, for parents with severe mental illnesses.

Listening to Older Adult Parents of Adult Children with Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Judith R.

2012-01-01

This article uses qualitative research and narrative analysis to examine the experience of women age 55 and older who are parents caring for adult children with mental illness. Knowledge about the conflicts of older parents with dependent children is underdeveloped. In this study, analysis of women's stories about parenting in later life reveal…

Factors Promoting Mental Health of Adolescents Who Have a Parent with Mental Illness: A Longitudinal Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loon, L.M.A. van; Ven, M.O.M. van de; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Hosman, C.M.H.; Witteman, C.L.M.

2015-01-01

Children of parents with mental illness have an elevated risk of developing a range of mental health and psychosocial problems. Yet many of these children remain mentally healthy. The present study aimed to get insight into factors that protect these children from developing internalizing and

Parenting and Psychiatric Rehabilitation : Can Parents With Severe Mental Illness Benefit From a New Approach?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ende, Peter C.; van Busschbach, Jooske T.; Nicholson, Joanne; Korevaar, Eliza L.; van Weeghel, Jaap

Objective: The aim of this pilot implementation study was to explore the initial experiences with and impact of Parenting with Success and Satisfaction (PARSS), a psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery-based, guided self-help intervention, for parents with severe mental illnesses. Methods: Changes

Implementing new routines in adult mental health care to identify and support children of mentally ill parents

OpenAIRE

Lauritzen, Camilla; Reedtz, Charlotte; Van Doesum, Karin TM; Martinussen, Monica

2014-01-01

Background: Mental health problems are often transmitted from one generation to the next. This knowledge has led to changes in Norwegian legislation, making it mandatory to assess whether or not patients have children, and to provide necessary support for the children of mentally ill patients. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the process of implementing new routines in adult mental health services to identify and support children of mentally ill parents. Methods: The design w...

Needs, expectations and consequences for the child growing up in a family with a parent with mental illness

OpenAIRE

Tabak, Izabella; Zabłocka-Żytka, Lidia; Ryan, Peter; Zanone Poma, Stefano; Joronen, Katja; Viganò, Giovanni; Simpson, Wendy; Paavilainen, Eija; Scherbaum, Norbert; Smith, Martin; Dawson, Ian

2016-01-01

Parental mental illness is considered one of the strongest risk-factors for development of offspring psychopathology. The lack of pan-European guidelines for empowering children of parents with mental illness led to EU project CAMILLE - Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The first task in this project, was to analyse needs, expectations and consequences for children, with respect to living wi...

Implementing new routines in adult mental health care to identify and support children of mentally ill parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritzen, Camilla; Reedtz, Charlotte; Van Doesum, Karin T M; Martinussen, Monica

2014-02-07

Mental health problems are often transmitted from one generation to the next. This knowledge has led to changes in Norwegian legislation, making it mandatory to assess whether or not patients have children, and to provide necessary support for the children of mentally ill patients. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the process of implementing new routines in adult mental health services to identify and support children of mentally ill parents. The design was a pre-test post-test study. The sample (N = 219 at pre-test and N = 185 at post-test) included mental health professionals in the largest hospital in the region, who responded to a web-based survey on the routines of the services, attitudes within the workforce capacity, worker's knowledge on the impact of parental mental illness on children, knowledge on legislation concerning children of patients, and demographic variables. The results of this study indicated that some changes are taking place in clinical practice in terms of increased identification of children. Adult mental health services providing support for the children was however not fully implemented as a new practice. The main finding in this study is that the identification frequency had increased significantly according to self-reported data since the Family Assessment Form was implemented. The increase in self-reported identification behavior is however taking place very slowly. Three years after the legislation was changed to making it mandatory to assess whether or not patients have children, it was still not fully incorporated in the routines of the entire workforce. In terms of support for the families affected by parental mental illness, the changes are not yet significant.

Children of Mentally Ill Parents Participating in Preventive Support Groups: Parental Diagnoses and Child Risk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santvoort, F. van; Hosman, C.M.H.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Janssens, J.M.A.M.

2014-01-01

In the Netherlands, preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill parents. Given the variety of parental diagnoses it might be questionable if offering a standardized program for all these children is the most effective response. While no overall knowledge exists about the type

Factors Promoting Mental Health of Adolescents Who Have a Parent with Mental Illness: A Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

Van Loon, L. M. A.; Van De Ven, M. O. M.; Van Doesum, K. T. M.; Hosman, C. M. H.; Witteman, C. L. M.

2015-01-01

Background: Children of parents with mental illness have an elevated risk of developing a range of mental health and psychosocial problems. Yet many of these children remain mentally healthy. Objective: The present study aimed to get insight into factors that protect these children from developing internalizing and externalizing problems. Methods:…

Parents of Mentally Ill Adult Children Living at Home: Rewards of Caregiving.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Chaya; Gidron, Ronit

2002-01-01

Study measured the extent to which parents perceive their ill child as providing assistance and support--practical and emotional--and perceive their own caregiving as emotionally and mentally rewarding. All parents reported receiving help and support, but perceived the satisfaction gained from fulfilling their parental duties and from learning…

Partnership in mental health and child welfare: social work responses to children living with parental mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheehan, Rosemary

2004-01-01

Mental illness is an issue for a number of families reported to child protection agencies. Parents with mental health problems are more vulnerable, as are their children, to having parenting and child welfare concerns. A recent study undertaken in the Melbourne Children's Court (Victoria, Australia) found that the children of parents with mental health problems comprised just under thirty percent of all new child protection applications brought to the Court and referred to alternative dispute resolution, during the first half of 1998. This paper reports on the study findings, which are drawn from a descriptive survey of 228 Pre-Hearing Conferences. A data collection schedule was completed for each case, gathering information about the child welfare concerns, the parents' problems, including mental health problems, and the contribution by mental health professionals to resolving child welfare concerns. The study found that the lack of involvement by mental health social workers in the child protection system meant the Children's Court was given little appreciation of either a child's emotional or a parent's mental health functioning. The lack of effective cooperation between the adult mental health and child protection services also meant decisions made about these children were made without full information about the needs and the likely outcomes for these children and their parents. This lack of interagency cooperation between mental health social work and child welfare also emerged in the findings of the Icarus project, a cross-national project, led by Brunel University, in England. This project compared the views and responses of mental health and child welfare social workers to the dependent children of mentally ill parents, when there were child protection concerns. It is proposed that adult mental health social workers involve themselves in the assessment of, and interventions in, child welfare cases when appropriate, and share essential information about

Prevalence of psychopathology in children of parents with mental illness and/or addiction: An up to date narrative review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leijdesdorff, S.M.J.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Popma, A.; Klaassen, R.M.C.; Amelsvoort, T.A.M.J. van

2017-01-01

Purpose of review: Children of parents with a mental illness and/or addiction are at high risk for developing a mental illness themselves. Parental mental illness is highly prevalent leading to a serious number of children at high risk. The aim of this review is to give an up-to-date overview of

Mental Health Literacy Content for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness: Thematic Analysis of a Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Riebschleger, Joanne; Grové, Christine; Cavanaugh, Daniel

2017-01-01

Millions of children have a parent with a mental illness (COPMI). These children are at higher risk of acquiring behavioural, developmental and emotional difficulties. Most children, including COPMI, have low levels of mental health literacy (MHL), meaning they do not have accurate, non-stigmatized information. There is limited knowledge about what kind of MHL content should be delivered to children. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the knowledge content needed for general population children and COPMI to increase their MHL. A second aim is to explore content for emerging children’s MHL scales. Researchers created and analyzed a literature review database. Thematic analysis yielded five main mental health knowledge themes for children: (1) attaining an overview of mental illness and recovery; (2) reducing mental health stigma; (3) building developmental resiliencies; (4) increasing help-seeking capacities; and (5) identifying risk factors for mental illness. COPMI appeared to need the same kind of MHL knowledge content, but with extra family-contextual content such as dealing with stigma experiences, managing stress, and communicating about parental mental illness. There is a need for MHL programs, validated scales, and research on what works for prevention and early intervention with COPMI children. PMID:29072587

Mental Health Literacy Content for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness: Thematic Analysis of a Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanne Riebschleger

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Millions of children have a parent with a mental illness (COPMI. These children are at higher risk of acquiring behavioural, developmental and emotional difficulties. Most children, including COPMI, have low levels of mental health literacy (MHL, meaning they do not have accurate, non-stigmatized information. There is limited knowledge about what kind of MHL content should be delivered to children. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the knowledge content needed for general population children and COPMI to increase their MHL. A second aim is to explore content for emerging children’s MHL scales. Researchers created and analyzed a literature review database. Thematic analysis yielded five main mental health knowledge themes for children: (1 attaining an overview of mental illness and recovery; (2 reducing mental health stigma; (3 building developmental resiliencies; (4 increasing help-seeking capacities; and (5 identifying risk factors for mental illness. COPMI appeared to need the same kind of MHL knowledge content, but with extra family-contextual content such as dealing with stigma experiences, managing stress, and communicating about parental mental illness. There is a need for MHL programs, validated scales, and research on what works for prevention and early intervention with COPMI children.

Analysis of a support group for children of parents with mental illnesses: managing stressful situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladstone, Brenda M; McKeever, Patricia; Seeman, Mary; Boydell, Katherine M

2014-09-01

We report an ethnographic analysis of a psycho-education and peer-support program for school-aged children of parents with mental illnesses. We conducted a critical discourse analysis of the program manual and observed group interactions to understand whether children shared program goals predetermined by adults, and how, or if, the intervention was responsive to their needs. Children were expected to learn mental illness information because "knowledge is power," and to express difficult feelings about being a child of a mentally ill parent that was risky. Participants used humor to manage group expectations, revealing how they made sense of their parents' problems, as well as their own. Suggestions are made for determining good mental health literacy based on children's preferences for explaining circumstances in ways they find relevant, and for supporting children's competencies to manage relationships that are important to them. © The Author(s) 2014.

Mental illness and parenthood: being a parent in secure psychiatric care.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrott, Fiona R; Macinnes, Douglas L; Parrott, Janet

2015-12-10

Research into parenting and mental illness seldom includes forensic mental health service users, despite its relevance to therapeutic, family work and risk management. This study aimed to understand the experiences of parents and the variety of parenting roles maintained during admission to a secure forensic hospital. Narrative interviews with 18 parents (eight mothers and 10 fathers) at an English medium security hospital were analysed thematically, using the framework approach. The proportion of patients who are parents and their contact patterns with their children were estimated from records. About a quarter of men and 38% of women were parents. Parenthood was of central importance to their emotional life, spanning experiences of loss, shame and failed expectations, joy, responsibility and hope. Fewer fathers maintained contact with their children than mothers yet fatherhood remained a vital aspect of men's identities, with impact on their self-esteem. Parenting during lengthy admissions--while constrained and dependent on professional support and surveillance--ranged from sending gifts and money to visits and phone calls. Offending was seen as a particularly shameful aspect of admission, contributing to distancing from the children and difficulty explaining detention to them. Such complex experiences call for multidisciplinary knowledge and skills. Provision of focused therapy, as well as appropriate visiting spaces, creative approaches to contact time and support for patients in explaining their mental illness and detention to their children are recommended. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Emotional Awareness Based Parenting Group for Parents with Mental Illness: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study of Community Mental Health Nurse Facilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Isobel, Sophie; Meehan, Felicity; Pretty, Danielle

2016-02-01

There has been limited examination of the use of relationship based structured parenting programs that focus on emotional interactions in the parent-child dyad in families where a parent has a mental illness. There is also a lack of awareness of the practicalities of providing such interventions within adult mental health services. This study explores the process and outcomes of a nurse led emotional awareness based parenting program for adult clients of a mental health service. Participants demonstrated a significant reduction in difficult parenting moments and associated stress and distress as well as promising improvements in overall distress and emotional awareness. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiences of adults who as children lived with a parent experiencing mental illness in a small-scale society : A Qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dam, K; Joensen, D G; Hall, E O C

2018-03-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Children of parent with severe mental illness are often carrying a caring burden; they keep the illness in the family, are documented to be stigmatized, bullied and to take special attention to their mentally ill parent's health and well-being. Little is however known about these children's experiences when growing up in a small-scale society. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Children's experiences of living with a parent with severe mental illness in the small-scale society (Faroe Islands) are paradoxical, life is often unreasonable and evidently contradictory but anyway connected. The results show that "everybody knows everybody" which refers to that, in the small-scale society, it is difficult to be anonymous. The children were familiar with that people talked and had a prejudiced attitude; this resulted that the participants were constantly reminded of their mental ill parent's difference, and they were feeling less worthy than their pals. Children of parents with severe mental illness in a small-scale society need to support from the close family as well as mental healthcare professionals. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The study adds knowledge about the challenges that children of mental ill parents have to go through. Dialogue among mental healthcare colleagues not only about caring for the sick parent but also about modes of caring for the children and the family at large would deepen the staff's knowing of the need for family-centred care within mental health care. Introduction An estimated 23% of children worldwide live with a parent experiencing mental illness. These children are exposed to emotional and psychosocial challenges. Little is known about these children when living in small-scale societies. Aim To explore how adults, who as children lived with parents experiencing mental illness in a small-scale society, recalled their childhood life. Method Individual interviews with 11 adults were

Children in Beardslee's family intervention: relieved by understanding of parental mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Pihkala, Heljä; Sandlund, Mikael; Cederström, Anita

2012-11-01

Beardslee's family intervention (FI), which is a family-based preventive method for children of mentally ill parents, has been implemented on a national level in Sweden. Fourteen children and parents from nine families were interviewed about how the FI was for the children. Data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. A central finding was children's sense of relief and release from worry because of more knowledge and openness about the parent's illness in the family. The results indicating relief for the children are encouraging.

Online group course for parents with mental illness: development and pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zanden, Rianne A P; Speetjens, Paula A M; Arntz, Karlijn S E; Onrust, Simone A

2010-12-19

Children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) are at greater risk of developing mental disorders themselves. Since impaired parenting skills appear to be a crucial factor, we developed a facilitated 8-session preventative group course called KopOpOuders (Chin Up, Parents) delivered via the Internet to Dutch parents with psychiatric problems. The goal was to promote children's well-being by strengthening children's protective factors via their parents. To reach parents at an early stage of their parenting difficulties, the course is easily accessible online. The course is delivered in a secure chat room, and participation is anonymous. This paper reports on (1) the design and method of this online the group course and (2) the results of a pilot study that assessed parenting skills, parental sense of competence, child well-being, and course satisfaction. The pilot study had a pre/post design. Parenting skills were assessed using Laxness and Overreactivity subscales of the Parenting Scale (PS). Sense of parenting competence was measured with the Ouderlijke Opvattingen over Opvoeding (OOO) questionnaire, a Dutch scale assessing parental perceptions of parenting using the Feelings of Incompetence and Feelings of Competence subscales. Child well-being was assessed with the total problem score, Emotional Problems, and Hyperactivity subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Paired samples t tests were performed, and Cohen's d was used to determine effect sizes. Intention-to-treat analyses and analyses of completers only were both performed. Course satisfaction was evaluated using custom-designed questionnaires. The sample comprised 48 parents with mental illness. The response rate was 100% (48/48) at pretest and 58% (28/48) at posttest. Significant improvements were found on PS Laxness and Overreactivity subscales (P children were not in the clinical range at both pretest and posttest. The mean course satisfaction score was 7.8 on a 10-point scale

Knowledge transfer in the field of parental mental illness: objectives, effective strategies, indicators of success, and sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritzen, Camilla; Reedtz, Charlotte

2015-01-01

Mental health problems are often transmitted from one generation to the next. However, transferring knowledge about interventions that reduce intergenerational transmission of disease to the field of parental mental illness has been very difficult. One of the most critical issues in mental health services research is the gap between what is generally known about effective treatment and what is provided to consumers in routine care. In this article we discuss several aspects of knowledge transfer in the field of parental mental illness. Effective strategies and implementation prerequisites are explored, and we also discuss indicators of success and sustainability. Altogether, this article presents a rationale for the importance of preventive strategies for children of mentally ill parents. Furthermore, the discussion shows how complex it is to change clinical practice.

Children of mentally ill parents – a pilot study of a group intervention program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna eChristiansen

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most prominent risk factors for the development of psychological disorders. To date there are only a few evidence based intervention programs for this group overall and hardly any in Germany. We translated the evidence based Family Talk Intervention by Beardslee (2009 and adapted it for groups. In a quasi-experimental design three groups are compared: an intervention group (Family Talk Intervention group: n = 28, a Wait Control group (n = 9, and a control group of healthy children (n = 40. Children of mentally ill parents showed higher rates of internalizing/externalizing disorders before and after the intervention compared to children of parents with no disorders. Post intervention children’s knowledge on mental disorders was significantly enhanced in the Family Talk Intervention group and externalizing symptoms were reduced for this group as well. This pilot study of a group intervention for children of mentally ill parents highlights the importance of psycho-education on parental mental disorders for children. Long-term effects of children’s enhanced knowledge about parental psychopathology need to be explored in future studies.

Violence by Parents Against Their Children: Reporting of Maltreatment Suspicions, Child Protection, and Risk in Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

McEwan, Miranda; Friedman, Susan Hatters

2016-12-01

Psychiatrists are mandated to report suspicions of child abuse in America. Potential for harm to children should be considered when one is treating parents who are at risk. Although it is the commonly held wisdom that mental illness itself is a major risk factor for child abuse, there are methodologic issues with studies purporting to demonstrate this. Rather, the risk from an individual parent must be considered. Substance abuse and personality disorder pose a separate risk than serious mental illness. Violence risk from mental illness is dynamic, rather than static. When severe mental illness is well-treated, the risk is decreased. However, these families are in need of social support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's experiences of living with a parent with mental illness: A systematic review of qualitative studies using thematic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Rumi; Keogh, Brian

2018-03-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE SUBJECT?: There are many qualitative studies that explore what it is like for children who live with a parent who has a mental illness. These studies are sometimes criticized because they have small sample sizes which limits their application. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative papers with an aim to strengthening our understanding of what it is like for children who live with a parent who has a mental illness. We used stringent criteria to make sure that only the voices of children affected by parental mental illness were included in the review. In addition, the paper presents a timely update on previous reviews completed in this area. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The findings of this review highlight the impact that parental mental illness has on children and the important role that mental health nurses can play in maximizing opportunities for building resilience in affected children. Mental health nurses are in a key position to provide timely and age-appropriate information and support to both parents and children to assist in the development of appropriate coping and support mechanisms. Introduction This paper brings together what is known about what it is like for children who live with a parent with a mental illness with a view to strengthening our understanding of their experiences. This paper presents an update on previous reviews that were completed in this area and used a systematic approach and stringent inclusion/exclusion criteria to ensure that the voices of children were central in the included papers. A systematic review of this nature could not be located in the literature. Aims This paper presents the findings of a systematic review which explored the experiences of children who were affected by parental mental illness. Methods CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Pubmesh and EMBASE were searched for qualitative studies which explored children's experiences, and

Prevalence of mental illness within families in a regional child-focussed mental health service.

Science.gov (United States)

Naughton, Michael F A; Maybery, Darryl J; Goodyear, Melinda

2018-04-01

Nearly 50% of all mental illnesses begin in childhood before the age of 14 years, and over 20% of parents have a mental illness. Few studies have examined the co-occurrence of mental illnesses in parents and children. In the present study, we examined the extent of mental illness within families of 152 clients attending an Australian regional child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). A cross-sectional study design was employed involving a case record review and clinician-completed questionnaire of the children and youth attending a CAMHS. It was found that 79% of these children were living with a parent with mental illness. The predominant diagnosis of both child and parent was an anxiety or mood disorder, and many families had co-occurring risk factors of domestic violence and limited social supports. The findings in this Australian cohort are similar to those of other international research. While novel in nature, the present study has highlighted the extent of both mental illness and scarce supports for both children and parents in the same family. The findings indicate the need for a coordinated multiservice delivery of appropriate and consistent family-focussed interventions, responding to both mental illness and social supports for children and parents. Further research should examine specific components of family need and support, as seen through the eyes of the child and their parent. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Online support for children of parents suffering from mental illness : A case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drost, Louisa M.; Schippers, Gerard M.

From epidemiologic research, we know that children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) have an elevated risk of developing a serious mental disorder. Aside from studies based on risk and resilience, there has been little research on the children's own perceptions. The aim of this study was to

Evaluating workforce developments to support children of mentally ill parents: implementing new interventions in the adult mental healthcare in Northern Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Reedtz, Charlotte; Lauritzen, Camilla; van Doesum, Karin T M

2012-01-01

According to new Norwegian laws, mental healthcare for adults are obligated to assess all patients who are parents and to act on their children's needs. This article describes the study protocol of implementing the interventions Family Assessment and Child Talks for children of patients in the adult psychiatry of the University Hospital of Northern Norway. The project is designed to evaluate the process of changes in clinical practice due to the implementation of two interventions. The interventions to be implemented are a standardised Family Assessment Form and the intervention called Child Talks. The family assessment form is an intervention to identify children of mentally ill parents and their needs. The intervention Child Talks is a health-promoting and preventive intervention where the mental health workers talk with the family about the situation of the children and their needs. There are two groups of participants in this study: (1) mental health workers in the clinic (N=220) and (2) patients who are parents (N=200) receiving treatment in the clinic. (1) In the evaluation of clinical practice, the authors use a pre-test, post-test and 1-year follow-up design. At pre-test, the authors evaluate status quo among mental health workers in the clinic regarding knowledge, attitudes, collaborative routines and clinical practice related to families with parental mental illness. After the pre-test is finished, the project move on to implement the interventions Family Assessment Form and Child Talks in the clinic. At post-test and 1-year follow-up, the authors evaluate the impact of implementing the Family Assessment Form in terms of how many children were identified and offered Child Talks in the clinic or referred to other services for additional support. (2) In the evaluation of parents/patients experience with the interventions, the authors use a pre-test post-test design. To identify children of mentally ill patients, the authors collect data on demographical

Do Parent Mental Illness and Family Living Arrangement Moderate the Effects of the Aussie Optimism Program on Depression and Anxiety in Children?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryanne Cheng

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Parent mental illness and family living arrangement are associated with depression and anxiety in children, and may influence the effects of programs that aim to prevent these disorders. This study investigated whether these family context factors moderated the intervention effects of the enhanced Aussie Optimism Positive Thinking Skills program on depression and anxiety in primary school children. The intervention was a universal, cognitive-behavioral program, with a one hour session each week for 10 weeks, delivered by trained teachers. The participants were 502 children from 13 private schools, aged 9–11, with 347 in the intervention group and 155 in the control group. There were 267 females and 235 males. Data from 502 parents was also included. A cluster randomized controlled trial design was used, including eight intervention schools and five control schools. Depression and anxiety were assessed at pre-test, post-test, and 6-months follow-up. Information on parent mental illness and family living arrangement was collected through a parent questionnaire. The data was analyzed using covariance analysis with Generalized Linear Mixed Methods. At baseline, depressive and anxiety symptoms did not differ significantly based on parent mental illness. Symptoms of depression at baseline were significantly higher for children from a higher-risk family living arrangement, but anxiety symptoms were not. Parent mental illness and family living arrangement did not moderate the effects of the program on depression and anxiety at post-test or 6-months follow-up. Parent mental illness moderated the intervention effects on negative self-esteem, an aspect of depression, at post-test, with improvements seen only for children who did not have a parent with a mental illness. The findings indicate an association between family living arrangement and depressive symptoms in children. The findings suggest that the program is effective for children regardless of

Parents with mental illness : (re)negotiating social roles, balancing responsibilities and managing risk

OpenAIRE

Jones, Satu

2015-01-01

This Master s thesis consists of two parts. The first is a literature review and reflection on the research process. The other part is a scientific article (Jones, M., Pietilä, I., Joronen, K., Simpson, W., Gray, S. & Kaunonen, M.: The varied voices of parents with mental illness a discourse analysis of focus group discussions). In the literature review the main themes of the study are discussed in more depth. These include mental illness and the ways in which it is portrayed and perce...

Children of mentally ill or addicted parents participating in preventive support groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santvoort, F. van; Hosman, C.M.H.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Janssens, J.M.A.M.

2013-01-01

The large number of children with mentally ill or addicted parents calls for efficient provision of preventive support: interventions should be offered to children most at risk and attune to their risk levels and needs. This study provided insight in the (heterogeneous) needs of children

Effect of Preventive Interventions in Mentally Ill Parents on the Mental Health of the Offspring: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Siegenthaler, Eliane; Munder, Thomas; Egger, Matthias

2012-01-01

Objective: Mental illness in parents affects the mental health of their children. A systematic review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of interventions to prevent mental disorders or psychological symptoms in the offspring were performed. Method: The Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for randomized controlled…

Adolescent Mental Health Consumers' Self-Stigma: Associations with Parents' and Adolescents' Illness Perceptions and Parental Stigma

Science.gov (United States)

Moses, Tally

2010-01-01

Currently, little is known about adolescents' self-stigma experiences as mental health (MH) treatment recipients. Hence, this study addresses the following two questions: (a) what are adolescents' and parents' perceptions of stigma and perceptions of the cause, controllability, and anticipated outcome (illness perceptions) of adolescents' MH…

A qualitative study of programs for parents with serious mental illness and their children: building practice-based evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, Joanne; Hinden, Beth R; Biebel, Kathleen; Henry, Alexis D; Katz-Leavy, Judith

2007-10-01

The rationale for the development of effective programs for parents with serious mental illness and their children is compelling. Using qualitative methods and a grounded theory approach with data obtained in site visits, seven existing programs for parents with mental illness and their children in the United States are described and compared across core components: target population, theory and assumptions, funding, community and agency contexts, essential services and intervention strategies, moderators, and outcomes. The diversity across programs is strongly complemented by shared characteristics, the identification of which provides the foundation for future testing and the development of an evidence base. Challenges in program implementation and sustainability are identified. Qualitative methods are useful, particularly when studying existing programs, in taking steps toward building the evidence base for effective programs for parents with serious mental illness and their children.

Implementing interventions in adult mental health services to identify and support children of mentally ill parents.

OpenAIRE

Lauritzen, Camilla

2014-01-01

Paper 3 of this thesis is not available in Munin: 3. Lauritzen, C., & Reedtz, C.: 'Support for children of mental health service users in Norway', Mental Health Practice (2013), vol. 16:12-18. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/mhp2013.07.16.10.12.e875 This dissertation is a result of a large-scale longitudinal project (the BAP-study) where the overall aim was to monitor and evaluate the implementation of clinical change to identify and support children of mentally ill parents within t...

Treated Mental Illness and the Risk of Child Abuse Perpetration.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Susan Hatters; McEwan, Miranda V

2018-02-01

Despite a limited empirical literature, parental mental illness is often cited as a major risk factor for violence against children. However, mental illness that is adequately treated would not be expected to lead to increased violence risk. This study compared incidents of violence toward children perpetrated by parents who were newly discharged from inpatient psychiatric treatment with violence perpetrated by other parents in the same communities to determine whether parents with treated mental illness had an elevated risk of child abuse perpetration. A secondary analysis of data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study was conducted. Violence toward children reported by parents and by collateral informants at the initial ten-week follow-up interview was analyzed for two groups: study participants discharged from inpatient psychiatric facilities and parents in the community matched by neighborhood. Of the 416 parents in the participant group, 20 (5%) committed violence toward a child in the ten weeks after discharge, compared with 41 (14%) of the 299 parents in the comparison group. In the participant group, diagnostic categories of parents who committed violence toward a child were as follows: serious mental illness only (8% of whom were violent), substance use disorder only (3%), both serious mental illness and substance use disorder (4%), and another issue (7%). This study found that parents with treated serious mental illness were not at higher risk than other parents in their community of perpetrating violence toward children. Parents who were admitted to an acute psychiatric facility and treated appeared to be at lower risk of being violent toward children than other parents in their community.

Mental Illness in Children: Know the Signs

Science.gov (United States)

... how you can help. By Mayo Clinic Staff Mental illness in children can be hard for parents to ... help they need. Understand the warning signs of mental illness in children and how you can help your ...

When Parents Have Problems: A Book for Teens and Older Children with an Abusive, Alcoholic, or Mentally Ill Parent.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Susan B.

This book was written for teenagers and older children who have abusive, alcoholic, or mentally ill parents. Emphasis is placed on young people in such situations using their intelligence, understanding that parents are fallible, viewing the future with optimism, facing reality, and seeing the good in other people rather than assuming everyone…

[A cooperative project in the district of Mettmann: preventive assistance for mentally ill parents and their children].

Science.gov (United States)

Hipp, Michael; Schatte, Dirk; Altrogge, Birgit

2010-01-01

Mentally ill parents are impaired in their ability to care for their children. To support the affected families from the perspective of the parents and the children alike a close cooperation between the institutions of psychiatry and child-welfare is of utmost importance. In the district of Mettmann a cooperation agreement was concluded to realize a cross-system concept to care for the families with mentally ill parents. To prevent children from developing psychiatric disorders the taboo of the psychiatric diseases has to be overcome, an early diagnostic clarification to be reached, and multiinstitutional help to be implemented. In the article the experience in dealing with the affected families in a multidisciplinary context is described.

Factors that may Facilitate or Hinder a Family-Focus in the Treatment of Parents with a Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritzen, Camilla; Reedtz, Charlotte; Van Doesum, Karin; Martinussen, Monica

Children with mentally ill parents are at risk of developing mental health problems themselves. To enhance early support for these children may prevent mental health problems from being transmitted from one generation to the next. The sample ( N  = 219) included health professionals in a large university hospital, who responded to a web-based survey on the routines of the mental health services, attitudes within the workforce capacity, worker's knowledge on the impact of parental mental illness on children, knowledge on legislation concerning children of patients, experience, expectations for possible outcomes of change in current clinical practice and demographic variables. A total of 56 % reported that they did not identify whether or not patients had children. There were no significant differences between the groups (identifiers and non-identifiers) except for the two scales measuring aspects of knowledge, i.e., Knowledge Children and Knowledge Legislation where workers who identified children had higher scores. The results also showed that younger workers with a medium level of education scored higher on Positive Attitudes. Furthermore, workers who reported to have more knowledge about children and the impact of mental illness on the parenting role were less concerned about a child-focussed approach interfering with the patient-therapist relation.

["Nicht von schlechten Eltern - NischE": A Family Orientated Collaborative Care Approach to Support Children in Families with Mentally Ill Parents].

Science.gov (United States)

Wabnitz, Pascal; Kronmüller, Klaus-Thomas; Wieskus-Friedemann, Erwin; Kliem, Sabine; Hoppmann, Johannes; Burek, Monika; Löhr, Michael; Kemper, Ulrich; Nienaber, André

2016-11-01

"Nicht von schlechten Eltern - NischE": A Family Orientated Collaborative Care Approach to Support Children in Families with Mentally Ill Parents The present work describes the setting- and multi-professional offer "NischE" in Gütersloh, a systemic approach for the care of children and their mentally ill parents. Children of mentally ill parents are a special risk group for developing their own mental illness. The aim of the collaborative care model between child and adolescent psychiatry, youth services and adult psychiatry is to enable affected families in terms of family-focused practice a low threshold access to different services. For this purpose, two positions have been created to advise the affected families and support access to the help system in the sense of a systemic case management in a project. The article describes the background and the need for the development of the offer, the current scientific knowledge base on the subject and illustrates the procedure using a case study from practice.

[Children of mentally ill parents. A study of problem awareness in clinical routine practice].

Science.gov (United States)

Bohus, M; Schehr, K; Berger-Sallawitz, F; Novelli-Fischer, U; Stieglitz, R D; Berger, M

1998-05-01

The risk of developing clinically relevant psychiatric disorders in the lifetime course is significantly greater among children of mentally ill parents. A child-adapted programme of information concerning the nature and symptomatology of parental illness is considered to be an important preventive factor, and lies within the domain of the psychiatrist's or therapist's responsibilities. During the developmental phase of a prevention project at Freiburg University's Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, both clinical practice and the level of problem awareness among patients and the therapists were evaluated. Over a period of one year, consecutive interviews involving 114 patients with children under 18 years of age, as well as their respective therapists, were conducted. The results showed that: scarcely any exchanges between children and therapists took place; the extent to which children are informed about parental illness must be considered as small; a high percentage of such children are already evaluated by their parents as disturbed, and the pressing need for support exists.

Defining Quality of Life in the Children of Parents with Severe Mental Illness: A Preliminary Stakeholder-Led Model

Science.gov (United States)

Bee, Penny; Berzins, Kathryn; Calam, Rachel; Pryjmachuk, Steven; Abel, Kathryn M.

2013-01-01

Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL) in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13–18 yrs) with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key ‘meta-themes’. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i) the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii) improved problem-based coping skills and iii) increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third sector

Defining quality of life in the children of parents with severe mental illness: a preliminary stakeholder-led model.

Science.gov (United States)

Bee, Penny; Berzins, Kathryn; Calam, Rachel; Pryjmachuk, Steven; Abel, Kathryn M

2013-01-01

Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL) in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13-18 yrs) with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key 'meta-themes'. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i) the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii) improved problem-based coping skills and iii) increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third sector providers to

Defining quality of life in the children of parents with severe mental illness: a preliminary stakeholder-led model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Penny Bee

Full Text Available Severe parental mental illness poses a challenge to quality of life (QoL in a substantial number of children and adolescents, and improving the lives of these children is of urgent political and public health concern. This study used a bottom-up qualitative approach to develop a new stakeholder-led model of quality of life relevant to this population. Qualitative data were collected from 19 individuals participating in focus groups or individual interviews. Participants comprised 8 clinical academics, health and social care professionals or voluntary agency representatives; 5 parents and 6 young people (aged 13-18 yrs with lived experience of severe parental mental illness. Data underwent inductive thematic analysis for the purposes of informing a population-specific quality of life model. Fifty nine individual themes were identified and grouped into 11 key 'meta-themes'. Mapping each meta-theme against existing child-centred quality of life concepts revealed a multi-dimensional model that endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree, the core domains of generic quality of life models. Three new population-specific priorities were also observed: i the alleviation of parental mental health symptoms, ii improved problem-based coping skills and iii increased mental health literacy. The identification of these priorities raises questions regarding the validity of generic quality of life measures to monitor the effectiveness of services for families and children affected by severe mental illness. New, age-appropriate instruments that better reflect the life priorities and unique challenges faced by the children of parents with severe mental illness may need to be developed. Challenges then remain in augmenting and adapting service design and delivery mechanisms better to meet these needs. Future child and adult mental health services need to work seamlessly alongside statutory education and social care services and a growing number of relevant third

Effects of Preventive Family Service Coordination for Parents With Mental Illnesses and Their Children, a RCT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wansink, H.J.; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Hoencamp, E.; Middelkoop, B.J.C.; Hosman, C.M.H.

2015-01-01

Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders, especially when parenting is compromised by multiple risk factors. Due to fragmented services, these families often do not get the support they need. Can coordination between services, as

Vulnerable Children of Mentally Ill Parents: Towards Evidence-Based Support for Improving Resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Pretis, Manfred; Dimova, Aleksandra

2008-01-01

The increasing prevalence of mental illness among parents always represents a stressor affecting the biopsychosocial development of a child. However, due to varying inherent resilience factors, not all children are affected to the same extent. The presence of evidence-based resilience factors is able to minimise or prevent the adverse effects…

Family assessment conversations as a tool to support families affected by parental mental illness: a retrospective review of electronic patient journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritzen, Camilla; Kolmannskog, Anne Berit; Iversen, Anette Christine

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown a link between parental mental illness and adverse development in their offspring. In Norway, it is mandatory for health professionals to identify if patients in adult mental health services have children, and subsequently to provide support for the children. An important tool to detect if families are affected by parental mental illness and to assess if there is a need for further intervention is the Family Assessment Conversation. Family Assessment Conversations is potentially a powerful tool for communication with families affected by parental mental illness because it facilitates early identification of children at risk of various adversities due to the family situation. Additionally the tool may initiate processes that enable children and parents to cope with the situation when a parent becomes seriously ill. Little is however known about how the mental health practitioners use the family assessment form in conversations, and to what extent they record relevant information in the electronic patient journals. The main aim of the study was to provide information about the existing practice within mental health services for adults in terms of parental mental illness and family assessment conversations. The project is a retrospective journal review. The data base consists of relevant journal data from 734 patients aged 20-60 years admitted. In total, 159 recordings of family assessment conversations were discovered. The main result in this study was that many of the questions in the family assessment form lacked documented responses and assessments from the healthcare professionals. Only 17% of the participants had been assessed with the total family assessment form. Additionally, there was a lack of documentation about whether or not the children had been informed in a large proportion of the assessment forms (31%). A total of 55% say that the child has not been informed. This implies that there is still a long way to go in order to

Factors that may Facilitate or Hinder a Family-Focus in the Treatment of Parents with a Mental Illness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lauritzen, C.; Reedtz, C.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Martinussen, M.

2015-01-01

Children with mentally ill parents are at risk of developing mental health problems themselves. To enhance early support for these children may prevent mental health problems from being transmitted from one generation to the next. The sample (N = 219) included health professionals in a large

Parenting and psychiatric rehabilitation: Can parents with severe mental illness benefit from a new approach? : 1-3 October

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joanne Nicholson; dr. P.C. van der Ende; Jaap van Weeghel; Dr. Lies Korevaar; Jooske T. van Busschbach

2015-01-01

Can parents with severe mental illness benefit from a new approach? XIthENMESH International Conference in Málaga (Spain). 1-3 October, 2015. With these results at hand we developed a new program and evaluated it . In this presentation we will reflect on the merits of this program but also share

An Online Health Prevention Intervention for Youth with Addicted or Mentally Ill Parents : Experiences and Perspectives of Participants and Providers from a Randomized Controlled Trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woolderink, Marla; Bindels, Jill A. P. M.; Evers, Silvia M. A. A.; Paulus, Aggie T. G.; van Asselt, Antoinette D. I.; van Schayck, Onno C. P.

2015-01-01

Background: Mental illnesses affect many people around the world, either directly or indirectly. Families of persons suffering from mental illness or addiction suffer too, especially their children. In the Netherlands, 864,000 parents meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental illness or addiction.

Effects of nurse-led child- and parent-focused violence intervention on mentally ill adult patients and victimized parents: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Gwo-Ching; Hsu, Mei-Chi

2016-08-01

Child-to-parent violence is an often hidden serious problem for parental caregivers of mentally ill adult children who experience violence toward them. To date, the comprehensive dyadic parent-adult child intervention to manage child-to-parent violence is scarce. To evaluate the effect of Child- and Parent-focused Violence Program, an adjunctive intervention involved with both violent adult children with mental illness and their victimized biological parent (parent-adult child dyads) on violence management. Open-label randomized controlled trial. A psychiatric ward in a teaching hospital and two mental hospitals in Southern Taiwan. Sixty-nine patients aged ≥20 years, with thought or mood disorders, having violent behavior in the past 6 months toward their biological parent of either gender were recruited. The violent patients' victimized biological parents who had a major and ongoing role in provision of care to these patients, living together with and being assaulted by their violent children were also recruited. The parent-adult child dyads were selected. The intervention was carried out from 2011 to 2013. The parent-adult child dyads were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (36 dyads), which received Child- and Parent-focused Violence Intervention Program, or to the control group (33 dyads), which received only routine psychiatric care. The intervention included two individualized sessions for each patient and parent, separately, and 2 conjoint sessions for each parental-child dyad for a total of 6 sessions. Each session lasted for at least 60-min. Data collection was conducted at 3 different time frames: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and treatment follow-up (one month after the completion of the intervention). Occurrence of violence prior to intervention was comparable between two groups: 88.9% (n=32) parents in the experimental group versus 93.9% (n=31) in the control group experienced verbal attack, and 50% (n=18) versus 48.5% (n=16

Professionals’ opinions on support for people with chronic illness in their roles as parents in mental or in general health care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ende, P.C.; Korevaar, E.L.; van Busschbach, J.T.; van Weeghel, J.

2017-01-01

Chronic illness affects a person’s wellbeing and affects the ability to perform the social roles of spouse or parent. When working with people with long-lasting mental or somatic illnesses, social workers and nurses are confronted with needs for support, especially for parents. Although programs are

Professionals’ opinions on support for people with chronic illness in their roles as parents in mental or in general health care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Der Ende, P.C.; Korevaar, L.; Van Busschbach, J.T.; Van Weeghel, J.

Chronic illness affects a person’s wellbeing and affects the ability to perform the social roles of spouse or parent. When working with people with long-lasting mental or somatic illnesses, social workers and nurses are confronted with needs for support, especially for parents. Although programs are

Filicide: mental illness in those who kill their children.

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Sandra M; Shaw, Jenny J; Abel, Kathryn M

2013-01-01

Most child victims of homicide are killed by a parent or step-parent. This large population study provides a contemporary and detailed description of filicide perpetrators. We examined the relationship between filicide and mental illness at the time of the offence, and care received from mental health services in the past. All filicide and filicide-suicide cases in England and Wales (1997-2006) were drawn from a national index of homicide perpetrators. Data on people in contact with mental health services were obtained via a questionnaire from mental health teams. Additional clinical information was collected from psychiatric reports. 6144 people were convicted of homicide, 297 were filicides, and 45 cases were filicide-suicides. 195 (66%) perpetrators were fathers. Mothers were more likely than fathers to have a history of mental disorder (66% v 27%) and symptoms at the time of the offence (53% v 23%), most often affective disorder. 17% of mothers had schizophrenia or other delusional disorders. Overall 8% had schizophrenia. 37% were mentally ill at the time of the offence. 20% had previously been in contact with mental health services, 12% within a year of the offence. In the majority of cases, mental illness was not a feature of filicide. However, young mothers and parents with severe mental illness, especially affective and personality disorder who are providing care for children, require careful monitoring by mental health and other support services. Identifying risk factors for filicide requires further research.

Filicide: mental illness in those who kill their children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra M Flynn

Full Text Available Most child victims of homicide are killed by a parent or step-parent. This large population study provides a contemporary and detailed description of filicide perpetrators. We examined the relationship between filicide and mental illness at the time of the offence, and care received from mental health services in the past.All filicide and filicide-suicide cases in England and Wales (1997-2006 were drawn from a national index of homicide perpetrators. Data on people in contact with mental health services were obtained via a questionnaire from mental health teams. Additional clinical information was collected from psychiatric reports.6144 people were convicted of homicide, 297 were filicides, and 45 cases were filicide-suicides. 195 (66% perpetrators were fathers. Mothers were more likely than fathers to have a history of mental disorder (66% v 27% and symptoms at the time of the offence (53% v 23%, most often affective disorder. 17% of mothers had schizophrenia or other delusional disorders. Overall 8% had schizophrenia. 37% were mentally ill at the time of the offence. 20% had previously been in contact with mental health services, 12% within a year of the offence.In the majority of cases, mental illness was not a feature of filicide. However, young mothers and parents with severe mental illness, especially affective and personality disorder who are providing care for children, require careful monitoring by mental health and other support services. Identifying risk factors for filicide requires further research.

Development of an intervention for children with a mild intellectual disability of parents with a mental illness (COPMI)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riemersma, I.; Santvoort, F. van; Vermaes, I.P.R.

2014-01-01

Aim: To date no intervention is available for children with mild intellectual disabilities (ID) of parents with a mental illness or substance use disorder, despite the strong relation between parental psychopathology and ID in children. Moreover, research has shown that mild ID combined with

Organisational systems and services for children of parents with mental illness and their families: processes of change and sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Susanne

2010-09-01

Adult mental illness in the community including depression and anxiety has achieved greater public awareness and visibility in recent years and this has also resulted in increased recognition about the widespread impact on dependent children. During the past decade in Australia, policies and specific programs for infants, children and youth in terms of prevention, early intervention and promotion in relation to children of parents with a mental illness ('copmi') have been devised. However, these have generally been disconnected projects, essentially supported only by non-recurrent funding. In more recent years, systematic and interconnected responses involving a wider range of government, non-government and consumer and carer organisations to build sustainability have become the focus. However, little research about change processes affecting the organisational systems serving children of parents with mental illness and their families has been undertaken. This aim of the current study is to describe the enablers and barriers that contribute to change in systems and government and non-government organisations in relation to children of parents with a mental illness in Australia over the past decade, within the context of sustainability. The study involved interviews, focus groups and website and literature searches regarding systems change across Australian states and territories and nationally in relation to the enablers, barriers and future directions. Strategic and intentional processes within organisations, more evolutionary ongoing cross-agency processes and links to sustained changes are key systems change findings. Relevance for change in other health services is highlighted.

Children living with a mentally ill parent: the role of public health nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Laurie

2010-08-01

Public Health Nurses work with children under 18 years in schools and the community. Increasingly children are living with a parent suffering from a mental illness. Consequently Public Health Nurses are encountering more mental illness as part of their practice. The research reported in this article aimed to identify the Public Health Nurse's role with regard to children in these circumstances. A qualitative research design was used with eight Public Health Nurses working in rural and urban settings. Participants engaged in a focus group from which data were gathered and analysed thematically using axial coding. To evaluate the identified themes six of the participants went on to take part in a further focus group. The three key themes identified were Advocacy, Assessment, and Relational Knowing and Clinical Practice. It emerged that the role of Public Health Nurses working with such families involved advocating for the child, using a range of assessment skills to gather relevant information and make referrals, with all informed by expert knowledge and clinical experience. Findings indicate the need for more acknowledgement of the frequency with which Public Health Nurses are encountering problems associated with mental illness; and hence the need for provision of appropriate education and support that will enable them to effectively advocate for children's safety and wellbeing.

What parents of mentally ill children need and want from mental health professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Scharer, Kathleen

2002-09-01

Child psychiatric hospitalization is a time of crisis for the parents of a child with a mental disorder. Prior to hospitalization, the child's problematic behavior has escalated. Parents have various types of contact with mental health professionals prior to, during, and after the hospitalization, which influence their ability to care for their child. This paper reports a qualitative descriptive study of what parents need and want from mental health professionals during this time frame. During the study, parents spontaneously talked about what they needed and wanted from mental health professionals, including nursing personnel. The perspectives of 38 parents of 29 hospitalized children were obtained through interviews. Parents identified needing informational, emotional, and instrumental support most often in the interviews. Specific examples from the data are included in this report.

Mental Illness in the Peripartum Period

Science.gov (United States)

Ostler, Teresa

2009-01-01

Women are particularly vulnerable in the peripartum period for either developing a mental illness or suffering symptom exacerbation. These illnesses are often experienced covertly, however, and women may not seek out professional help, even though their symptoms may be seriously affecting their well-being and parenting. This article provides an…

Filial piety and parental responsibility: an interpretive phenomenological study of family caregiving for a person with mental illness among Korean immigrants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Park Mijung

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the strong influence of culture on family involvement in disease management, few studies have examined how immigrant families care for persons with mental illness. The purpose of this study was to examine how immigrant families organize their world to care for a mentally ill person in the United States. The current analysis focused on how Confucian notions of filial piety and parental obligation shape caregiving in Korean immigrant families. Methods Participants in this interpretive phenomenological study were comprised of six Korean immigrant women caring for a family member with mental illness. Participants provided narratives that illustrate challenges and opportunities in caring for their mentally ill family member. Results Three family caregiving patterns were discerned. Insulating from the outside world describes a family’s effort to accept a member's illness and to manage it within the family. Prioritizing education over well-being concerns parental commitment to the Confucian priority of educating one’s children. Reciprocating the sacrifice describes how a family adapts and enacts filial piety. Conclusion The findings of this study warrant further study to examine the influence of Confucianism among Korean American families. The three patterns of caregiving are strongly aligned with Confucian notion of family and family engagement. These patterns may help health providers to anticipate the needs of and provide individualized, culturally appropriate mental health care for patients with mental illness and their families of Korean origin.

Psychological interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Eccleston, Christopher; Palermo, Tonya M; Fisher, Emma; Law, Emily

2012-08-15

Psychological therapies have been developed for parents of children and adolescents with a chronic illness. Such therapies include parent only or parent and child/adolescent, and are designed to treat parent behaviour, parent mental health, child behaviour/disability, child mental health, child symptoms and/or family functioning. No comprehensive, meta-analytic reviews have been published in this area. To evaluate the effectiveness of psychological therapies that include coping strategies for parents of children/adolescents with chronic illnesses (painful conditions, cancer, diabetes mellitus, asthma, traumatic brain injury, inflammatory bowel diseases, skin diseases or gynaecological disorders). The therapy will aim to improve parent behaviour, parent mental health, child behaviour/disability, child mental health, child symptoms and family functioning. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions that included parents of children and adolescents with a chronic illness. The initial search was from inception of these databases to June 2011 and we conducted a follow-up search from June 2011 to March 2012. We identified additional studies from the reference list of retrieved papers and from discussion with investigators. Included studies were RCTs of psychological interventions that delivered treatment to parents of children and adolescents (under 19 years of age) with a chronic illness compared to active control, wait list control or treatment as usual. We excluded studies if the parent component was a coaching intervention, the aim of the intervention was health prevention/promotion, the comparator was a pharmacological treatment, the child/adolescent had an illness not listed above or the study included children with more than one type of chronic illness. Further to this, we excluded studies when the sample size of either comparator group was fewer than 10 at post-treatment. We included 35

[Mental illnesses in childhood and adolescence: A bioethical view of the stigma they entail].

Science.gov (United States)

Bella, Mónica E; Vilarrodona, Hugo

2015-01-01

Literature suggests that general beliefs towards mental illnesses are strongly correlated to the social behavior towards people who suffer them. to explore beliefs and attitudes towards mental illnesses in children and adolescents and associate them to bioethics. exploratory, prospective and quantitative study. A questionnaire was administered to parents-tutors of children-adolescents with mental disorders, and to healthcare professionals of the Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad Córdoba (Argentina). Data processing was performed by means of frequency analysis. 68.5% of parents-tutors and 51.8% of healthcare professionals answered that mental illnesses are never considered like any other illness. Diagnose and treatment is perceived as a stigma by 25.9% of healthcare professionals. For 88.1% of parents-tutors and 9.8% of healthcare professionals, children and adolescents with mental illnesses are never dangerous. 77.1% of parents and 18.4% of professionals stated that people are never afraid of children-adolescents with MI. 42.8% of children-adolescents were excluded from school and 28.5% from family activities. mental illness during childhood entails a stigma that compromises development, equal opportunity and human rights.

Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

... the same time. For example, you may have depression and a substance use disorder. Complications Mental illness is a leading cause of disability. Untreated mental illness can cause severe emotional, behavioral and physical health problems. Complications sometimes linked to mental illness include: ...

Cost-effectiveness of preventive case management for parents with a mental illness: A randomized controlled trial from three economic perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wansink, H.J.; Drost, R.M.W.A.; Paulus, A.T.G.; Ruwaard, D.; Hosman, C.M.H.; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Evers, S.M.A.A.

2016-01-01

Background: The children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at increased risk for developing costly psychiatric disorders because of multiple risk factors which threaten parenting quality and thereby child development. Preventive basic care management (PBCM) is an intervention aimed at

['NischE - Nicht von schlechten Eltern' - Evaluation of a Multidisciplinary Teamwork Approach to Support Children in Families with Mentally Ill Parents].

Science.gov (United States)

Nienaber, A; Wieskus-Friedemann, E; Kliem, S; Hoppmann, J; Kemper, U; Löhr, M; Kronmüller, K-T; Wabnitz, P

2017-02-01

Objective: Evaluation of a project offering low-threshold anonymous counseling services jointly by mental health services and child and youth services to support children in families with mentally ill parents Methods: Evaluating performance data and completed questionnaires returned by parents included in the project. Results: Between 2011-2014, 150 families received up to 10 sessions of family-oriented counseling. The survey results indicate a high level of satisfaction with the services of the cooperation project. The vast majority of respondents said that they would recommend this service to others or would themselves take advantage of the services again. Conclusion: A collaboration of service providers from psychiatry and child and youth welfare department resulting in continuous availability of counseling with a common family medical perspective represents a forward-looking model for families with a mentally ill parent. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Changing the tide: stigma, school youth, and mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Marsha

2015-03-01

Schools are in a key position not only to identify mental health concerns early but to address issues of stigma that prevent both children and their parents from seeking help with mental illness. Stigma associated with mental illness perpetuates isolative behavior and poor engagement within the academic community. Programs within schools that address mental health issues and support open communication with families can reduce the pain and isolation that is often the experience of youth with undiagnosed and untreated mental and emotional disorders. © 2014 The Author(s).

[Educational guidance for families with mentally ill parents: a bridge between youth welfare services and psychiatric care system].

Science.gov (United States)

Schrappe, Andreas

2013-01-01

In the last fifteen years a lot of services were established to assist children and their mentally ill parents. To improve the preventive and therapeutic interventions in favour of these families, the cooperation between all the institutions involved has to be enhanced. Family counselling centers can play an important role as a link between the psychiatric care system and the youth welfare services. By transferring the psychiatric terminology to the families' everyday language, the counsellors help the parents and the children to share their experiences with the parental illness. To implement a consultation-hour in a psychiatric clinic is an example of how educational guidance can close the gap between the two systems and strengthen the cooperation.

Psychological interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic illness

Science.gov (United States)

Eccleston, Christopher; Palermo, Tonya M; Fisher, Emma; Law, Emily

2012-01-01

Background Psychological therapies have been developed for parents of children and adolescents with a chronic illness. Such therapies include parent only or parent and child/adolescent, and are designed to treat parent behaviour, parent mental health, child behaviour/disability, child mental health, child symptoms and/or family functioning. No comprehensive, meta-analytic reviews have been published in this area. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of psychological therapies that include coping strategies for parents of children/adolescents with chronic illnesses (painful conditions, cancer, diabetes mellitus, asthma, traumatic brain injury, inflammatory bowel diseases, skin diseases or gynaecological disorders). The therapy will aim to improve parent behaviour, parent mental health, child behaviour/disability, child mental health, child symptoms and family functioning. Search methods We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsyclNFO for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions that included parents of children and adolescents with a chronic illness. The initial search was from inception of these databases to June 2011 and we conducted a follow-up search from June 2011 to March 2012. We identified additional studies from the reference list of retrieved papers and from discussion with investigators. Selection criteria Included studies were RCTs of psychological interventions that delivered treatment to parents of children and adolescents (under 19 years of age) with a chronic illness compared to active control, wait list control or treatment as usual. We excluded studies if the parent component was a coaching intervention, the aim of the intervention was health prevention/promotion, the comparator was a pharmacological treatment, the child/adolescent had an illness not listed above or the study included children with more than one type of chronic illness. Further to this, we excluded studies when the sample size of either comparator

Children of mentally ill parents—a pilot study of a group intervention program

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Hanna; Anding, Jana; Schrott, Bastian; Röhrle, Bernd

2015-01-01

Objective: The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most prominent risk factors for the development of psychological disorders. Children of mentally ill parents are a vulnerable high risk group with overall impaired development and high rates of psychological disorders. To date there are only a few evidence based intervention programs for this group overall and hardly any in Germany. We translated the evidence based Family Talk Intervention by Beardslee (2009) and adapted it for groups. First results of this pilot study are presented. Method: This investigation evaluates a preventive group intervention for children of mentally ill parents. In a quasi-experimental design three groups are compared: an intervention group (Family Talk Intervention group: n = 28), a Wait Control group (n = 9), and a control group of healthy children (n = 40). Mean age of children was 10.41 years and parental disorders were mostly depressive/affective disorders (n = 30), but a small number also presented with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (n = 7). Results: Children of mentally ill parents showed higher rates of internalizing/externalizing disorders before and after the intervention compared to children of parents with no disorders. Post intervention children's knowledge on mental disorders was significantly enhanced in the Family Talk Intervention group compared to the Wait Control group and the healthy control group. Parental ratings of externalizing symptoms in the children were reduced to normal levels after the intervention in the Family Talk Intervention group, but not in the Wait Control group. Discussion: This pilot study of a group intervention for children of mentally ill parents highlights the importance of psycho-education on parental mental disorders for children. Long-term effects of children's enhanced knowledge about parental psychopathology need to be explored in future studies. PMID:26539129

Effectiveness of preventive support groups for children of mentally ill or addicted parents: a randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santvoort, F. van; Hosman, C.M.H.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Janssens, J.M.

2014-01-01

In various countries preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill and/or addicted parents to reduce the risk that they will develop problems themselves. This study assessed the effectiveness of Dutch support groups for children aged 8-12 years old in terms of reducing negative

Interviews with children of persons with a severe mental illness: investigating their everyday situation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostman, Margareta

2008-01-01

Research on children of persons with a severe mental illness focuses predominantly on parents' and others' perceptions. Children of mentally ill parents form a vulnerable group that has not been adequately paid attention to in psychiatric care institutions. Comparatively little is known about the children's recognition of their parents and the everyday situation of these families. The aim of the study was to investigate experiences of their life situation in children 10-18 years of age in a family with a parent with a severe mental illness. Eight children were interviewed concerning their everyday life situation. The interviews were analysed inspired from using thematic analysis. From the analysis of the material emerged aspects concerning the following themes: need for conversation, love for their family, maturity, experience of fear and blame, feelings of loneliness, responsibility and associated stigma. This study highlights the situation experienced by children of severely mentally ill persons who also are parents. The study may be found to be a basis for inspiring structured interventions and treatments programmes including children of the adult patients seeking psychiatric treatment.

Mental Illness Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

... News & Events About Us Home > Health Information Share Statistics Research shows that mental illnesses are common in ... of mental illnesses, such as suicide and disability. Statistics Top ı cs Mental Illness Any Anxiety Disorder ...

A theory of meaning of caregiving for parents of mentally ill children in Taiwan, a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Wen-Jiuan; Teng, Ching-Hwa; Huang, Xuan-Yi; Ma, Wei-Fen; Lee, Sheuan; Tseng, Hsiu-Chih

2010-01-01

The aim of this study is to generate a theory of meaning of care-giving for parents of mentally ill children in Taiwan. Studies indicate that the meaning of care-giving plays an important role in the psychological adjustment of care-givers to care-giving. With a positive meaning of care-giving, care-givers can accept their roles and adapt to them more readily. The research employs the qualitative method of grounded theory, the inquiry is based on symbolic interactionism. Twenty parental care-givers of children with schizophrenia were recruited at a private hospital in central Taiwan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. A comparative method was used to analyse the text and field notes. Responsibility (zeren) emerges as the core category or concept. Responsibility expresses broadly the behavioural principles that are culturally prescribed and centred on familial ethics and values. Related concepts and principles that influence caregiver actions and affections include a return of karma, challenges from local gods and fate. By maintaining their culturally prescribed interpretations of care-giving, parents hope to give care indefinitely without complaints. The findings clearly suggest that the meaning of care-giving is determined through a process of internal debate that is shaped by culturally specific concepts. The paper attempts to explain some of these culturally specific determinants and explanations of care-giving behaviour. The theory contributes knowledge about the meaning of care-giving for parents of mentally ill children in Taiwan. It should be useful reference for mental health professionals, who provide counselling services to ethnically Taiwanese care-givers.

Psychological interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic illness

OpenAIRE

Eccleston, Chris; Palermo, T M; Fisher, Emma; Law, E

2012-01-01

Psychological therapies have been developed for parents of children and adolescents with a chronic illness. Such therapies include parent only or parent and child/adolescent, and are designed to treat parent behaviour, parent mental health, child behaviour/disability, child mental health, child symptoms and/or family functioning. No comprehensive, meta-analytic reviews have been published in this area. To evaluate the effectiveness of psychological therapies that include coping strategies for...

Experiences in a group of grown-up children of mentally ill parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Knutsson-Medin, L; Edlund, B; Ramklint, M

2007-12-01

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.

Promotion of mental health in children of parents with a mental disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Verrocchio, Maria Cristina; Ambrosini, Alessandra; Fulcheri, Mario

2013-01-01

Mental disorders are associated with many difficulties in the activities of daily living, work, relationships and family, and they determine high social and economic costs that represent an important public health problem. The literature has shown that children of parents with mental disorders grow up in environments that are potentially harmful to their mental health and are at risk of neglect and maltreatment. Interventions to prevent mental disorders and psychological symptoms of children of parents with mental disorders are effective but supporting these families is a complex task which requires both cooperation between departments and an interdisciplinary knowledge. A greater knowledge of the responses provided to assist families with dependent children and a mentally ill parent, could stimulate reflections on critical issues and government actions aimed at promoting and protecting the mental health of children.

How to support patients with severe mental illness in their parenting role with children aged over 1 year? A systematic review of interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrank, Beate; Moran, Katherine; Borghi, Cristiana; Priebe, Stefan

2015-12-01

There are well-established risks for parents with severe mental illness (i.e. psychotic and bipolar disorders), both for their children and themselves. Interventions to help parents fulfil their role should therefore be a public health objective, but their implementation needs to be underpinned by research evidence. This systematic review determines what is known about the nature and effectiveness of interventions for parents with severe mental illness. We conducted a narrative synthesis of controlled and uncontrolled studies reporting interventions for this patient group after the post-natal period (i.e. after the child has turned 1 year old). Eighteen publications reported data from 15 studies. All but two studies were rated as low quality studies. Interventions included home visiting programmes, complex community programmes, residential treatments, and online interventions. Interventions targeted diverse areas, with parenting skills and understanding the impact of mental illness on parenting most frequently addressed. Both parent and child-related outcomes improved, but children were only assessed via observers and follow-up times were short. Interventions were diverse with respect to their nature and effectiveness. Future interventions should combine different intervention strategies to target multiple areas in a flexible manner. The addition of positively focussed and resource-oriented components should be investigated. Trials should include direct assessments of both parents and children, outcomes that are relevant from a public health perspective, and establish the long-term effects ideally until children have reached 18 years of age.

[Students Having Parents with Mental Health Issues and Teachers' Mental Health Literacy].

Science.gov (United States)

Bruland, Dirk; Kornblum, Katharina; Harsch, Stefanie; Bröder, Janine; Okan, Orkan; Bauer, Ullrich

2017-12-01

Students Having Parents with Mental Health Issues and Teachers' Mental Health Literacy Mental health issues of parents of school children often negatively affects the children as well, including their school performance and social behavior in the school setting. Teachers are then required to take actions with regards to supporting children in their coping with and mastering of their home situation and their responds to educational demands. As such, schools' and teachers' actions can either support affected children and fulfill a protective function or respond inappropriately, with negative impact on the affected children. Although the societal discussion about and acceptance of mental illnesses have increased in recent years, scientific knowledge on how well teachers are prepared for meeting the needs of affected students remains insufficient. Therefore, this research study examines teachers' attitudes towards, knowledge about, and competencies regarding children affected by a mentally ill parent. 15 in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups (n = 11) with teachers from primary and secondary schools were conducted and systematically analyzed. Although burdens in the family are perceived as major influences on children's school day and performance, teachers report to not feel sufficiently prepared for and uncertain about supporting and coping with the special needs of affected students. Instead they report to "learn from a case to case" basis. Recognizing the family situation of children with mentally ill parents is reported to be especially difficult for teachers. Responding inadequately and insensitive to the needs of affected children was perceived as a serious burden for teachers themselves. While schools can function as entry points to professional social help systems, teachers frequently reported barriers and challenges in accessing, communicating, and collaborating with these systems. The practical implications of these results regarding the "Mental Health

A review of factors associated with mental health in siblings of children with chronic illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Incledon, Emily; Williams, Lauren; Hazell, Trevor; Heard, Todd R; Flowers, Alexandra; Hiscock, Harriet

2015-06-01

This article reviews the literature on modifiable factors associated with mental health in siblings of children with chronic illness. Three clinical databases were searched. A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Several key themes emerged from the review. Better sibling mental health was associated with camp attendance, perceived parent/peer support, illness education and enhancing control through cognitive coping strategies and routine. Parental and sibling psychoeducation interventions and social support may enhance children's mental health when their sibling has a chronic illness. © The Author(s) 2013.

Helping Teachers to Help Children Living with a Mentally Ill Parent: Teachers' Perceptions on Identification and Policy Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Bibou-Nakou, I.

2004-01-01

The material presented here is based on a pilot European project (Daphne Project, 2000/EU funding, collaboration of Greece and England) regarding parental mental illness and children's welfare and needs (1).The presentation focuses upon the responses of a group of teachers working in primary education in relation to identification issues and…

Promotion of mental health in children of parents with a mental disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cristina Verrocchio

Full Text Available Mental disorders are associated with many difficulties in the activities of daily living, work, relationships and family, and they determine high social and economic costs that represent an important public health problem. The literature has shown that children of parents with mental disorders grow up in environments that are potentially harmful to their mental health and are at risk of neglect and maltreatment. Interventions to prevent mental disorders and psychological symptoms of children of parents with mental disorders are effective but supporting these families is a complex task which requires both cooperation between departments and an interdisciplinary knowledge. A greater knowledge of the responses provided to assist families with dependent children and a mentally ill parent, could stimulate reflections on critical issues and government actions aimed at promoting and protecting the mental health of children.

Effects of preventive family service coordination for parents with mental illnesses and their children, a RCT.

Science.gov (United States)

Wansink, Henny J; Janssens, Jan M A M; Hoencamp, Erik; Middelkoop, Barend J C; Hosman, Clemens M H

2015-06-01

Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders, especially when parenting is compromised by multiple risk factors. Due to fragmented services, these families often do not get the support they need. Can coordination between services, as developed in the Preventive Basic Care Management (PBCM) program, improve parenting and prevent child behavioral problems? This randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) compared the effectiveness of PBCM with a control condition. Ninety-nine outpatients of a community mental health center were randomized to intervention or control. Primary outcomes included parenting quality (assessed by the HOME instrument), parenting skills (parenting skills subscale of FFQ), and parenting stress (PDH). Secondary outcomes are child behavioral problems (SDQ). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 9 and 18 months. Effects were analyzed by Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. Most families were single-parent families belonging to ethnic minorities. The results of the first RCT on effects of PBCM suggest that this intervention is feasible and has a positive effect on parenting skills. There was no evidence for effects on the quality of parenting and parenting stress, nor preventive effects on child behavioral problems. Replication studies in other sites, with more power, including monitoring of the implementation quality and studying a broader palette of child outcomes are needed to confirm the positive effects of PBCM. Long-term prospective studies are needed to investigate if improved parenting skills lead to positive effects in the children in the long run. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Strategies for parenting by mothers and fathers with a mental illness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ende, Peter; van Busschbach, J.T.; Nicholson, J.; Korevaar, L.; van Weeghel, J.

2016-01-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: The combination of coping with their mental health problems and caring for children makes parents vulnerable. Family-centred practice can help to maintain and strengthen important family relationships, and to identify and enhance the strengths of a parent with a mental

Motherhood in women with serious mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Benders-Hadi, Nikole; Barber, Mary; Alexander, Mary Jane

2013-03-01

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of motherhood among inpatient females at a large state psychiatric hospital in suburban New York, as well as develop an understanding of the characteristics and needs of this unique population. Data on motherhood status was gathered from October 2010 through April 2011 via medical records. Data on custody status, frequency of contacts with children, and effect of mental illness on parenting was assessed through patient surveys and focus groups. 38.5 % of female inpatients were found to be mothers, almost half of whom reported at least weekly contact with children despite their inpatient status. The majority of identified mothers reported having maintained custody of their minor children and expressed great pride at being primary caretakers for their children, yet also emphasized the challenging effects of stigma associated with mental illness and parenting. A significant proportion of women at this psychiatric hospital were found to be mothers. Although acknowledged by some clinicians at the individual level, motherhood appears to remain a forgotten role systemically. Determining motherhood status and recognizing the varied roles our patients have is one more way mental health providers can model and promote recovery-oriented care.

'You are Okay': a support and educational program for children with mild intellectual disability and their parents with a mental illness: study protocol of a quasi-experimental design.

Science.gov (United States)

Riemersma, Ivon; van Santvoort, Floor; Janssens, Jan M A M; Hosman, Clemens M H; van Doesum, Karin T M

2015-12-24

Children of parents with a mental illness or substance use disorder (COPMI) have an increased risk of developing social-emotional problems themselves. Fear of stigmatisation or unawareness of problems prevents children and parents from understanding each other. Little is known about COPMI with mild intellectual disabilities (ID), except that they have a high risk of developing social-emotional problems and require additional support. In this study, we introduce a program for this group, the effectiveness of which we will study using a quasi-experimental design based on matching. The program 'You are okay' consists of a support group for children and an online educational program for parents. The goal of the program is to increase children and parents' perceived competence with an aim to prevent social-emotional problems in children. Children between ten and twenty years old with mild ID (IQ between 50 and 85) and at least one of their parents with a mental illness will be included in the study. The children will receive part time treatment or residential care from an institute for children with mild ID and behavioural problems. Participants will be assigned to the intervention or the control group. The study has a quasi-experimental design. The children in the intervention group will join a support group, and their parents will be offered an online educational program. Children in the control group will receive care as usual, and their parents will have no extra offer. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-test, and follow up (6 months). Children, parents, and social workers will fill out the questionnaires. The 'You are okay' program is expected to increase children and parents' perceived competence, which can prevent (further) social-emotional problem development. Because the mental illness of parents can be related to the behavioural problems of their children, it is important that children and parents understand each other. When talking about the

[Between psychiatry and youth welfare--help and support for children of mentally ill parents in the tension field of the disciplines].

Science.gov (United States)

Wagenblass, S; Schone, R

2001-09-01

A mental illness of parents brings up a high burden for the affected children. The professionals working in psychiatry and social work are getting a rising knowledge of the specific problems these children have. Anyway, there are only a few useful treatments offered for this group of people. There are a lot of reasons for this lag in take care of. It's not only based on the financial situation or the personnel structure which must be mentioned as reasons for children of parents with mental illness for not asking for help. It's also the incomplete knowledge of the caregivers. But first of all the writer wants to show that the tension in this working field brings up the main problems. For solving these problems the article gives some advice for crossing over the borderlines and build up a communication between the institutions which are involved.

[Subjective Needs of Support in Families with a Mentally Ill Parent – A Literature Review].

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, Patricia; Bruland, Dirk; Bauer, Ulrich; Lenz, Albert

2016-01-01

Mentally ill parents are often sceptical about professional help for their children although these children face an increased risk to develop a mental disease themselves. To get a better understanding of needs and help-seeking behaviour in those families a systematic literature review was conducted. Four databases (FIS, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, PubPsych) were scanned for international and national research literature. Out of 18,057 articles 56 were included which report quantitative or qualitative studies taking the children's and parents' perspectives into account. A thematic synthesis was done to categorize the needs. Results concerning the help-seeking behaviour and the influence of demographic variables were extracted and summarized. Our results were limited by the aspect that no evaluation of study quality had been made and influences on the categorizing process by the authors' subjective perceptions are likely. There were a lot of hints regarding the needs of the families, but little report was found about help-seeking behaviour and demographic variables. The "health literacy" concept was discussed as a basis for further research in this area.

Somali Refugees' Perceptions of Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettmann, Joanna E; Penney, Deb; Clarkson Freeman, Pamela; Lecy, Natalie

2015-01-01

Nearly 13% of the U.S. population is comprised of foreign-born individuals, with Somalis constituting one of the largest resettled groups. Research suggests that, among Somali refugees, rates of mental illness are high. Yet research shows Somalis underutilize mental health services. Understanding their perceptions of mental illness and its cures may help practitioners to design more effective treatments for this population. Thus, this pilot study investigated Somali refugees' perceptions of mental illness and its treatments. Using purposive sampling, this qualitative study interviewed 20 Somali refugees using a semi-structured interview guide. Qualitative analysis yielded participants' perceptions of mental illness through their descriptions of physical symptoms accompanying mental illness, the stigma of mental illness, causes of mental illness, medical and non-medical treatments for mental illness, spirit possession causing mental illness, and the Qur'an as treatment for mental illness. Such information may help practitioners in the United States approach Somali clients in the most culturally coherent manner.

[Children of mentally ill parents. Research perspectives exemplified by children of depressed parents].

Science.gov (United States)

Mattejat, F; Wüthrich, C; Remschmidt, H

2000-03-01

Children of psychiatrically ill parents represent a risk group that has received growing attention during the last years. The risk for this group to develop a psychiatric illness is markedly increased due to genetic and psychosocial factors. The development of effective preventive concepts requires a thorough knowledge of the psychosocial factors. In this paper, deficits and problems of research in psychosocial transmission mechanism are discussed taking the example of children of depressive parents. Conclusions from this exemplary considerations may serve as guidelines for future research. The authors suggest that the focus be rather placed on coping strategies and developmental psychopathology. Further, research criteria are formulated that refer to theoretical models as well as to study design.

Do biogenetic causal beliefs reduce mental illness stigma in people with mental illness and in mental health professionals? A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Larkings, Josephine S; Brown, Patricia M

2018-06-01

Viewing mental illness as an 'illness like any other' and promoting biogenetic causes have been explored as a stigma-reduction strategy. The relationship between causal beliefs and mental illness stigma has been researched extensively in the general public, but has gained less attention in more clinically-relevant populations (i.e. people with mental illness and mental health professionals). A systematic review examining whether endorsing biogenetic causes decreases mental illness stigma in people with mental illness and mental health professionals was undertaken using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Multiple databases were searched, and studies that explored the relationship between biogenetic causal beliefs and mental illness stigma in people with mental illness or mental health professionals were considered. Studies were included if they focussed on depression, schizophrenia, or mental illness in general, were in English, and had adult participants. The search identified 11 journal articles reporting on 15 studies, which were included in this review. Of these, only two provided evidence that endorsing biogenetic causes was associated with less mental illness stigma in people with mental illness or mental health professionals. The majority of studies in the present review (n = 10) found that biogenetic causal beliefs were associated with increased stigma or negative attitudes towards mental illness. The present review highlights the lack of research exploring the impacts of endorsing biogenetic causes in people with mental illness and mental health professionals. Clinical implications associated with these results are discussed, and suggestions are made for further research that examines the relationship between causal beliefs and treatment variables. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Parent-reported Mental Health Problems and Mental Health Services Use in South Australian School-aged Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Wu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background:Monitoring and reporting childhood mental health problems and mental health services utilization over time provide important information to identify mental health related issues and to guide early intervention. This paper aims to describe the recent prevalence of parent-reported mental health problems among South Australian (SA children; to identify mental health problems associated characteristics; and to describe mental health services utilization and its related characteristics among this population. Methods:Parent-reported mental health problems were assessed against the first item of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. School-aged children were randomly sampled monthly and data were collected using a surveillance system between 2005 and 2015. Associations between mental health problems and various factors were analysed using univariable analysis and multivariable logistic regression modelling. Results:Prevalence of parent-reported mental health problems among children was 9.1% and 9.3% for children aged 5 to 11 years and children aged 12 to 15 years, respectively. No change in prevalence was observed during the past decade. Mental health problems were associated with male sex, long-term illness or pain, negative school experiences, not living with biological parents, and living in a rental dwelling. Less than half (48.7% of the children with mental health problems received professional help. An increasing trend was found in mental health services utilisation among children aged 5 to 15 years. Utilization of mental health services was associated with male sex, older age, long-term illness or pain, and feeling unhappy at school. Conclusion:This study reports the prevalence of parent-reported mental and mental health services utilisation among SA school-aged children. Identified characteristics associated with mental health problems and mental health services utilisation provide useful information for the planning of

Employment, family roles, and mental ill health in young married women.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, N F

1985-01-01

Women are entering the labor force at unprecedented rates, many combining employment with their roles as wives and mothers. The purpose of this study was to determine if the complement of women's roles was associated with negative mental health effects. It was hypothesized that multiple roles would have negative effects on mental health only in the presence of a social context that itself was associated with symptoms of mental ill health. The contextual variables included influence of sex role norms, task-sharing support from the spouse, and support from a confidant. A sample of 140 married women randomly selected from registrants at a family health clinic were interviewed about their roles and mental health. The complement of the women's roles was not associated with mental ill health, nor was there a clear relationship between employment or parenting on mental health. Each of the contextual variables had a moderate influence on symptoms of mental ill health. Women who had traditional sex role norms, little task-sharing support from a spouse, and little support from a confidant had poorer mental health than their counterparts. Thus, in this sample, the context for role performance had a stronger influence on mental health than did the actual roles women performed. In addition, the importance of the social contextual variables was contingent on the woman's complement of roles. For women who were both spouse and parent, confiding support was most important.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Prevention groups for school-age children of mentally ill parents ("Auryn Groups")].

Science.gov (United States)

Dierks, H

2001-09-01

Children of psychiatrically ill parents have a high risk themselves to develop a psychiatric illness in adulthood. Prevention aims at strengthening the resilience of these children and reducing psychosocial risk factors. This article found and describes a theoretical concept of prevention groups for children in schoolage (7-16 years) whose parents are psychiatrically ill. First practical experiences are depicted. The Hamburgian model of prevention works with closed and temporary limited groups of children as well as with the parents. It is based on supporting the children's existing coping strategies and the children are encouraged to exchange their individual experiences of the relationships within their families. One conclusion was, that the main thematic emphasis varied considerably depending on the age of the children.

"It's not that straightforward": when family support is challenging for mothers living with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, Dinali N; Short, Liz; Fernbacher, Sabin

2014-09-01

Mental health service providers often have limited or problematic understanding of parents' support needs or experiences and family relationships. Moreover, the impact of family life and relationships for mothers with mental illness, and whether these relationships are experienced as positive or negative, have been largely underinvestigated. This article aims to increase understanding about the complexity of family relationships and support for mothers. Findings may be useful for services when considering family involvement, and for how to better meet the needs of mothers with mental illness and support their recovery. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 8 mothers with mental illness and 11 mental health service providers. This article presents a grounded theory analysis of the complexity of family relationships and support for mothers with mental illness. Family relationships of mothers with mental illness can be complex, potentially difficult, and challenging. Problems in relationships with partners and families, and experiences of abuse, can have harmful consequences on parenting, on mothers' and children's well-being, and on the support mothers receive. This project highlights a need to recognize and work with positive aspects and difficulties in family relationships as part of mental health service provision. Policies can be reviewed to increase the likelihood that mental health care will combine family-sensitive practice with practice that acknowledges difficult family relationships and experiences of family violence in order to maximize support to mothers with mental illness and their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Could gender equality in parental leave harm off-springs' mental health? a registry study of the Swedish parental/child cohort of 1988/89

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Introduction Mental ill-health among children and young adults is a growing public health problem and research into causes involves consideration of family life and gender practice. This study aimed at exploring the association between parents' degree of gender equality in childcare and children's mental ill-health. Methods The population consisted of Swedish parents and their firstborn child in 1988-1989 (N = 118 595 family units) and the statistical method was multiple logistic regression. Gender equality of childcare was indicated by the division of parental leave (1988-1990), and child mental ill-health was indicated by outpatient mental care (2001-2006) and drug prescription (2005-2008), for anxiety and depression. Results The overall finding was that boys with gender traditional parents (mother dominance in childcare) have lower risk of depression measured by outpatient mental care than boys with gender-equal parents, while girls with gender traditional and gender untraditional parents (father dominance in childcare) have lower risk of anxiety measured by drug prescription than girls with gender-equal parents. Conclusions This study suggests that unequal parenting regarding early childcare, whether traditional or untraditional, is more beneficial for offspring's mental health than equal parenting. However, further research is required to confirm our findings and to explore the pathways through which increased gender equality may influence child health. PMID:22463683

Could gender equality in parental leave harm off-springs' mental health? a registry study of the Swedish parental/child cohort of 1988/89

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norström Lisa

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Mental ill-health among children and young adults is a growing public health problem and research into causes involves consideration of family life and gender practice. This study aimed at exploring the association between parents' degree of gender equality in childcare and children's mental ill-health. Methods The population consisted of Swedish parents and their firstborn child in 1988-1989 (N = 118 595 family units and the statistical method was multiple logistic regression. Gender equality of childcare was indicated by the division of parental leave (1988-1990, and child mental ill-health was indicated by outpatient mental care (2001-2006 and drug prescription (2005-2008, for anxiety and depression. Results The overall finding was that boys with gender traditional parents (mother dominance in childcare have lower risk of depression measured by outpatient mental care than boys with gender-equal parents, while girls with gender traditional and gender untraditional parents (father dominance in childcare have lower risk of anxiety measured by drug prescription than girls with gender-equal parents. Conclusions This study suggests that unequal parenting regarding early childcare, whether traditional or untraditional, is more beneficial for offspring's mental health than equal parenting. However, further research is required to confirm our findings and to explore the pathways through which increased gender equality may influence child health.

Provider-initiated HIV counselling and testing (PICT) in the mentally ill

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Routine HIV testing among the mentally ill in SA is not yet standard practice, despite the high .... or court order, i.e. the spouse or next-of-kin (parent, grandparent, an adult child or a sibling, in the order listed). Similarly, the Mental. Health Care ...

The Stigma of Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Overton, Stacy L.; Medina, Sondra L.

2008-01-01

Stigma surrounding major mental illness creates many barriers. People who experience mental illness face discrimination and prejudice when renting homes, applying for jobs, and accessing mental health services. The authors review the current literature regarding stigma and mental illness. They define stigma and review theories that explain its…

An Online Health Prevention Intervention for Youth with Addicted or Mentally Ill Parents: Experiences and Perspectives of Participants and Providers from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolderink, Marla; Bindels, Jill A P M; Evers, Silvia M A A; Paulus, Aggie T G; van Asselt, Antoinette D I; van Schayck, Onno C P

2015-12-02

Mental illnesses affect many people around the world, either directly or indirectly. Families of persons suffering from mental illness or addiction suffer too, especially their children. In the Netherlands, 864,000 parents meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental illness or addiction. Evidence shows that offspring of mentally ill or addicted parents are at risk for developing mental disorders or illnesses themselves. The Kopstoring course is an online 8-week group course with supervision by 2 trained psychologists or social workers, aimed to prevent behavioral and psychological problems for children (aged 16 to 25 years) of parents with mental health problems or addictions. The course addresses themes such as roles in the family and mastery skills. An online randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the Kopstoring course. The aim was to gain knowledge about expectations, experiences, and perspectives of participants and providers of the online Kopstoring course. A process evaluation was performed to evaluate the online delivery of Kopstoring and the experiences and perspectives of participants and providers of Kopstoring. Interviews were performed with members from both groups. Participants were drawn from a sample from the Kopstoring RCT. Thirteen participants and 4 providers were interviewed. Five main themes emerged from these interviews: background, the requirements for the intervention, experience with the intervention, technical aspects, and research aspects. Overall, participants and providers found the intervention to be valuable because it was online; therefore, protecting their anonymity was considered a key component. Most barriers existed in the technical sphere. Additional barriers existed with conducting the RCT, namely gathering informed consent and gathering parental consent in the case of minors. This study provides valuable insight into participants' and providers' experiences and expectations with the online

Nurses' professional stigma and attitudes towards postpartum women with severe mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ordan, Revital; Shor, Ron; Liebergall-Wischnitzer, Michal; Noble, Lawrence; Noble, Anita

2018-04-01

To examine professional stigma and attitudes of parenthood towards postpartum women with severe mental illness and the association between postpartum nurses' attitudes and nursing interventions that promote motherhood. Stigma and attitudes towards parenthood of women with severe mental illness may influence nurses' clinical practices. Cross-sectional, mixed methods. The Stigma among Health Professionals towards People with Severe Mental Illness, Attitudes towards Parenthood among People with Severe Mental Illness and Nursing Interventions that Promote Becoming a Mother Questionnaires were used in the study, as well as qualitative analysis. Sixty-one postpartum nurses participated in the study. Increased stigma was associated with an increase in negative attitudes towards parenthood among people with severe mental illness, in general, and towards their parenthood skills, in particular. Postpartum nurses reported a decrease in nursing interventions and a therapeutic nurse-client relationship that fosters mother's empowerment. Themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis were postpartum nurse's perceptions of inadequacy, difficulty of postpartum nurses taking responsibility for managing women with severe mental illness and a paternalistic approach to these women, rather than empowerment, regarding infant care. Nurses providing care to postpartum women with severe mental illness and their infants may provide fewer routine postpartum interventions due to professional stigma and negative attitudes concerning parenting skills. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability. Not all women with severe mental illness are capable of caring for themselves and/or their baby. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows the women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Challenges of connectedness in personal recovery for rural mothers with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Hine, Rochelle Helena; Maybery, Darryl; Goodyear, Melinda Jane

2018-04-01

Social connection is a fundamental human need, but challenging for individuals with characteristics that are socially stigmatized. Parenting with mental illness presents obstacles, as well as opportunities, for connection. In the present study, we examined connectedness within a personal recovery paradigm for rural mothers with a mental illness. In-depth interviews with 17 mothers with a mental illness, utilizing constructivist grounded theory, resulted in six categories of meaning, including 'yearning for connection', 'connecting intensely', 'encountering rejection and exclusion', 'choosing isolation', 'being known', and 'finding peers/helping others'. Women expressed a strong desire for connection, but for many, prior experiences of trauma and rejection created barriers to the development of trust, preventing some women from seeking opportunities for connection. Connectedness to self and significant others, and a broader life meaning and purpose can support and expedite personal recovery from mental illness for rural women. However the factors that contribute to the mental illness might also inhibit the development of trust needed to attain social connection. Increasing connectedness in mothers with mental illness is a complex endeavour requiring concerted focus as distinct from other service-delivery goals. The perinatal period could be a key time for intervention. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Influences of Maternal Mental Illness on Psychological Outcomes for Adolescent Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Oyserman, Daphna; Bybee, Deborah; Mowbray, Carol

2002-01-01

Explores the effects of maternal psychiatric symptoms and community functioning on child outcomes in a diverse sample of seriously mentally ill women caring for their teenaged children. In hierarchical multiple regression, for youth depression, we find effects for parenting style and maternal mental health; for youth anxiety and efficacy, effects…

Psychological interventions for parents of children and adolescents with chronic illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Eccleston, Christopher; Fisher, Emma; Law, Emily; Bartlett, Jess; Palermo, Tonya M

2015-04-15

psychological therapies. PST had a beneficial effect on parent adaptive behaviour (SMD = -0.25, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.11, Z = 3.59, p mental health (SMD= -0.24, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.05, Z = 2.50, p = 0.01) immediately post-treatment and this effect was maintained at follow-up for parent mental health (SMD= -0.19, 95% CI -0.34 to -0.04, Z = 2.55, p = 0.01). The remaining analysis for PST on parent behaviour found no effect. No effects were found for CBT post-treatment or at follow-up for either parent outcome. For FT, only one analysis could be run on parent mental health and no effect was found. Due to lack of data, the remaining analyses of primary outcomes could not be run. For MST, no parent outcomes could be analysed due to lack of data.Secondary outcome analyses are presented in the Results section. Five studies reported that there were no adverse events during the trial. The remaining 42 studies did not report adverse events. This update includes 13 additional studies, although our conclusions have not changed from the original version. There is little evidence for the efficacy of psychological therapies that include parents on most outcome domains of functioning, for a large number of common chronic illnesses in children. However, psychological therapies are efficacious for some outcomes. CBT that includes parents is beneficial for reducing children's primary symptoms, and PST that includes parents improved parent adaptive behaviour and parent mental health. There is evidence that the beneficial effects can be maintained at follow-up for diabetes-related symptoms in children, and for the mental health of parents of children with cancer and parents who received PST.

Mental-health-related stigma among Japanese children and their parents and impact of renaming of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Koike, Shinsuke; Yamaguchi, Sosei; Ohta, Kazusa; Ojio, Yasutaka; Watanabe, Kei-Ichiro; Ando, Shuntaro

2017-03-01

Mental-health-related stigma affects help-seeking behavior and service utilization among young people. Whether mental-health-related stigma is different or correlated between parents and their children is unknown. It is also unknown whether the name change of schizophrenia in 2002 has had long-term effects on reducing stigma for adults in the general population. We recruited 143 parent-child pairs (mean ages [SD]: 51.5 [3.6] and 21.2 [1.2] years, respectively) to complete self-report questionnaires regarding mental-health-related stigma and experience. We also assessed negative stereotypes for three psychiatric disease names (old and new names of schizophrenia, and depression), and for diabetes mellitus as a physical illness comparison. The questionnaires also asked respondents to identify the old and new names of schizophrenia and dementia, respectively, among 10 names for mental and physical illnesses and conditions. Parents showed lower stigma levels toward mental illness and diabetes mellitus, but similar or greater stigma levels toward schizophrenia, compared with their children. Stigma levels toward mental illness in parents and their children were significantly correlated. The rate of correct identification of the old and new names for schizophrenia was higher in parents than in their children (64.7% vs 41.4%, P stigma toward mental illness is shared between family members, and the name change of schizophrenia has effectively reduced stigma levels toward this disorder in adults of various ages. © 2016 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2016 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

[Attachment Quality of Young Children with Mentally Ill Parents on the Example of the Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome].

Science.gov (United States)

Ramberg, Axel; Feldkötter, Sinja

2015-01-01

One of the most discussed questions in clinical literature concerns the impact of child abuse by mentally ill parents (cf. Mattejat, 1998). It's obvious that most children cannot understand such a parental behaviour and that this lack of understanding along with the lack of knowledge about their parents' emotional disorder results in childrens' fear, disorientation and uncertainty. The consequences are massive interferences in the relationship between parents and children, who could develop an anxious-resistant insecure or even a disorganized/disoriented attachment. But how does a child react, if the behaviour of its parents is ambivalent itself and alternates from abuse to care? Such a parental behaviour is described as the "Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome". This article regards the effects of a "Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome" on the childrens' attachment development. After discussing the basic assumptions about the "Munchhauen by Proxy Syndrome" and the attachment theory we draw conclusions about the syndrome's effect on childrens' attachment behaviour.

Cultural Variation in Implicit Mental Illness Stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheon, Bobby K; Chiao, Joan Y

2012-10-01

Culture shapes how individuals perceive and respond to others with mental illness. Prior studies have suggested that Asians and Asian Americans typically endorse greater stigma of mental illness compared to Westerners (White Europeans and Americans). However, whether these differences in stigma arise from cultural variations in automatic affective reactions or deliberative concerns of the appropriateness of one's reactions to mental illness remains unknown. Here we compared implicit and explicit attitudes toward mental illness among Asian and Caucasian Americans. Asian Americans showed stronger negative implicit attitudes toward mental illness relative to Caucasian Americans, suggesting that cultural variation in stigma of mental illness can be observed even when concerns regarding the validity and appropriateness of one's attitudes toward mental illness are minimized. Asian Americans also explicitly endorsed greater desire for social distance from mental illness relative to Caucasian Americans. These findings suggest that cultural variations in mental illness stigma may arise from cultural differences in automatic reactions to mental illness, though cultural variations in deliberative processing may further shape differences in these immediate reactions to mental illness.

Parental alienation: the impact on men's mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Sher, Leo

2015-11-13

Parental alienation is defined as a mental state in which a child, usually one whose parents are engaged in a high-conflict separation or divorce, allies himself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent) and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent) without legitimate justification. Parental alienation may affect men's mental health: a) parental alienation negatively influences mental health of male children and adolescents who are victims of parental alienation. Alienated children/adolescents display guilt, sadness, and depressed mood; low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence; distress and frustration; lack of impulse control, substance abuse and delinquent behavior; separation anxiety, fears and phobias; hypochondria and increased tendency to develop psychosomatic illness; suicidal ideation and suicide attempt; sleep and eating disorders; educational problems; enuresis and encopresis; b) parental alienation negatively affects the mental health of adult men who were victims of parental alienation when they were children and/or adolescents. Long-term effects of parental alienation include low self-esteem, depression, drug/alcohol abuse, lack of trust, alienation from own children, divorce, problems with identity and not having a sense of belonging or roots, choosing not to have children to avoid being rejected by them, low achievement, anger and bitterness over the time lost with the alienated parent; c) parental alienation negatively influences mental health of men who are alienated from their children. Fathers who have lost some or all contact with their children for months or years following separation or divorce may be depressed and suicidal.

An Internet discussion board for parents of mentally ill young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Scharer, Kathleen

2005-01-01

This paper reports parents' use of electronic bulletin board for social support during a pilot study of an Internet intervention. Parents participated for a mean of 13.83 weeks. The convenience sample consisted of six parents. Data were from site access information and parents' postings. Excluding one mother who checked frequently for messages, mothers have an average of 5.2 postings. Excluding this one mother, the postings/ accesses ratio was greater than 60%. Parents made postings in four categories of "child's illness" having 37 comments and 36 comments for "group maintenance". While the study findings cannot be generalized, these results suggest that parents will use electronic discussion boards.

Insight into mental illness and child maltreatment risk among mothers with major psychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullick, M; Miller, L J; Jacobsen, T

2001-04-01

This study examined the relationship between insight into mental illness and current child maltreatment risk among mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder and who had lost custody of a child because of abuse, neglect, or having placed the child at risk of harm. Specifically, a measure of insight was examined in relation to systematically observed parenting behaviors known to be correlated with past child maltreatment and in relation to a comprehensive clinical determination of risk. Forty-four mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder were independently rated for their insight into their illness, the quality of mother-child interaction, and the overall clinical risk of maltreatment. Better insight into mental illness was associated with more sensitive mothering behavior and with lower assessed clinical risk of maltreatment. The association remained when mothers with current psychotic symptoms were excluded from the analyses. Better insight did not appear to be associated with past psychotic symptoms, maternal psychiatric diagnosis, or the mother's level of education. Insight into mental illness may function as a protective factor that influences the risk of child maltreatment in mothers with mental illness. Measures of insight could be usefully incorporated into comprehensive parenting assessments for mothers with psychiatric disorders.

'You are okay': A support and educational program for children with mild intellectual disability and their parents with a mental illness: study protocol of a quasi-experimental design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riemersma, I.; Santvoort, F. van; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Hosman, C.M.H.; Doesum, K.T.M. van

2015-01-01

Background: Children of parents with a mental illness or substance use disorder (COPMI) have an increased risk of developing social-emotional problems themselves. Fear of stigmatisation or unawareness of problems prevents children and parents from understanding each other. Little is known about

Mental Illness and Mental Healthcare Receipt among Hospitalized Veterans with Serious Physical Illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrido, Melissa M; Prigerson, Holly G; Neupane, Suvam; Penrod, Joan D; Johnson, Christopher E; Boockvar, Kenneth S

2017-03-01

Psychosocial distress among patients with limited life expectancy influences treatment decisions, treatment adherence, and physical health. Veterans may be at elevated risk of psychosocial distress at the end of life, and understanding their mental healthcare needs may help identify hospitalized patients to whom psychiatric services should be targeted. To examine mental illness prevalence and mental health treatment rates among a national sample of hospitalized veterans with serious physical illnesses. Design, Subjects, and Measurements: This was a retrospective study of 11,286 veterans hospitalized in a Veterans Health Administration acute care facility in fiscal year 2011 with diagnoses of advanced cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or advanced HIV/AIDS. Prevalent and incident mental illness diagnoses during and before hospitalization and rates of psychotherapy and psychotropic use among patients with incident depression and anxiety were measured. At least one-quarter of the patients in our sample had a mental illness or substance use disorder. The most common diagnoses at hospitalization were depression (11.4%), followed by alcohol abuse or dependence (5.5%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (4.9%). Of the 831 patients with incident past-year depression and 258 with incident past-year anxiety, nearly two-thirds received at least some psychotherapy or guideline-concordant medication within 90 days of diagnosis. Of 191 patients with incident depression and 47 with incident anxiety at time of hospitalization, fewer than half received mental healthcare before discharge. Many veterans hospitalized with serious physical illnesses have comorbid mental illnesses and may benefit from depression and anxiety treatment.

World survey of mental illness stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Seeman, Neil; Tang, Sabrina; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Ing, Alton

2016-01-15

To obtain rapid and reproducible opinions that address mental illness stigma around the world. Random global Web users were exposed to brief questions, asking whether they interacted daily with someone with mental illness, whether they believed that mental illness was associated with violence, whether it was similar to physical illness, and whether it could be overcome. Over a period of 1.7 years, 596,712 respondents from 229 countries completed the online survey. The response rate was 54.3%. China had the highest proportion of respondents in daily contact with a person with mental illness. In developed countries, 7% to 8% of respondents endorsed the statement that individuals with mental illness were more violent than others, in contrast to 15% or 16% in developing countries. While 45% to 51% of respondents from developed countries believed that mental illness was similar to physical illness, only 7% believed that mental illness could be overcome. To test for reproducibility, 21 repeats of the same questions were asked monthly in India for 21 months. Each time, 10.1 ± 0.11% s.e., of respondents endorsed the statement that persons who suffer from mental illness are more violent than others, indicating strong reproducibility of response. This study shows that surveys of constructs such as stigma towards mental illness can be carried out rapidly and repeatedly across the globe, so that the impact of policy interventions can be readily measured. The method engages English speakers only, mainly young, educated males. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dutch intervention programmes for children of mentally ill parents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amelsvoort, T.A.M.J. van; Santvoort, F. van; Doesum, K.T.M. van

2016-01-01

Purpose: This presentation will present the outcomes of a practice-based and science-based Dutch initiative to develop a comprehensive national prevention programme focused on children of parents with a mental disorder. An outline of the multicomponent programme is presented which includes a wide

[Primary Prevention of Mental Disorders in Children of Mentally Ill Parents. The Kanu Programme "Canoe--Moving Jointly Forward"].

Science.gov (United States)

Linthorst, K; Bauer, U; Osipov, I; Pinheiro, P; Rehder, M

2015-09-01

Children of parents who suffer from mental health disorders are more likely to develop mental disorders than children of parents not suffering from mental disorders. For children at risk, preventive strategies are hardly available and, if available, rarely supported by a scientific evaluation. "Kanu - Gemeinsam weiterkommen (canoe - moving jointly forward)" is a preventive strategy that was developed within a research project focusing on primary prevention in children who live in families with parents affected by mental disorders. The intervention is characterised by a multi-modular concept and was tested in the adult psychiatric setting. Preliminary results indicate a preventive impact of the intervention programme. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Gene-Environment Interactions in Severe Mental Illness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudolf eUher

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Severe mental illness is a broad category that includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression. Both genetic disposition and environmental exposures play important roles in the development of severe mental illness. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the roles of genetic and environmental depend on each other. Gene-environment interactions may underlie the paradox of strong environmental factors for highly heritable disorders, the low estimates of shared environmental influences in twin studies of severe mental illness and the heritability gap between twin and molecular heritability estimates. Sons and daughters of parents with severe mental illness are more vulnerable to the effects of prenatal and postnatal environmental exposures, suggesting that the expression of genetic liability depends on environment. In the last decade, gene-environment interactions involving specific molecular variants in candidate genes have been identified. Replicated findings include an interaction between a polymorphism in the AKT1 gene and cannabis use in the development of psychosis and an interaction between the length polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and childhood maltreatment in the development of persistent depressive disorder. Bipolar disorder has been underinvestigated, with only a single study showing an interaction between a functional polymorphism in BDNF and stressful life events triggering bipolar depressive episodes. The first systematic search for gene-environment interactions has found that a polymorphism in CTNNA3 may sensitise the developing brain to the pathogenic effect of cytomegalovirus in utero, leading to schizophrenia in adulthood. Strategies for genome-wide investigations will likely include coordination between epidemiological and genetic research efforts, systematic assessment of multiple environmental factors in large samples, and prioritization of genetic variants.

Paternal history of mental illness associated with posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd-Banigan, Megan; Kelley, Michelle L; Katon, Jodie G; Curry, John F; Goldstein, Karen M; Brancu, Mira; Wagner, H Ryan; Fecteau, Teresa E; Van Houtven, Courtney H

2017-10-01

This study examined the association between parent and family reported history of non-PTSD mental illness (MI), PTSD specifically, and substance use problems, and participant clinical diagnosis of PTSD. Participants were drawn from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Post-Deployment Mental Health (PDMH) study (n = 3191), an ongoing multi-site cohort study of US Afghanistan and Iraq conflict era veterans. Participants who recalled a father history of PTSD had a 26-percentage point higher likelihood of meeting criteria for PTSD; while participants reporting any family history of PTSD had a 15-percentage point higher probability of endorsing symptoms consistent with PTSD. Mother history of substance use problems was associated with Veteran current PTSD, but results were sensitive to model specification. Current PTSD was not associated with family/parent history of non-PTSD mental illness, mother history of PTSD, or family/father history of substance use problems. Family history of PTSD may increase PTSD risk among veterans exposed to trauma, particularly when a father history is reported. Knowledge of family history could improve clinical decision-making for trauma-exposed individuals and allow for more effective targeting of programs and clinical services. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Parental mental illness and fatal birth defects in a national birth cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Webb, Roger; Pickles, A.R.; King-Hele, Sarah

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Few large studies describe links between maternal mental illness and risk of major birth defect in offspring. Evidence is sparser still for how effects vary between maternal diagnoses and no previous study has assessed risk with paternal illnesses.MethodA population-based birth cohort...... genetic effects directly linked with maternal illness, lifestyle factors (diet, smoking, alcohol and drugs), poor antenatal care, psychotropic medication toxicity, and gene-environment interactions. Further research is needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms...

Mental illness among journalists: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, Yuta; Malcolm, Estelle; Yamaguchi, Sosei; Thornicroft, Graham; Henderson, Claire

2013-06-01

Mass media depictions of people with mental illness have a strong influence on public attitudes, to the extent that changes in these depictions can reduce public stigmatization of people with such illness. Journalists' mental health may influence their depiction of those with mental illness, but little is known about this. To investigate mental illness among journalists in five key areas: (1) journalists' mental health status; (2) journalists' personal attitudes towards mental illness; (3) attitudes and support journalists expect or have experienced from colleagues when they have a mental health problem; (4) effect of journalism's professional culture on the course of mental illness; and (5) effect of journalism's professional culture on mass media depictions of people with mental illness. We performed a systematic screening of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library regarding the study aims. We identified 19, 12, seven and four studies for aims 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. No articles were found for aim 5. The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among journalists is higher than that among the general population. Journalists have positive personal attitudes towards mental illness, but there are perceived workplace disincentives to disclose mental health problems.

The Impact of Illness Identity on Recovery from Severe Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanos, Philip T; Roe, David; Lysaker, Paul H

2010-04-01

The impact of the experience and diagnosis of mental illness on one's identity has long been recognized; however, little is known about the impact of illness identity, which we define as the set of roles and attitudes that a person has developed in relation to his or her understanding of having a mental illness. The present article proposes a theoretically driven model of the impact of illness identity on the course and recovery from severe mental illness and reviews relevant research. We propose that accepting a definition of oneself as mentally ill and assuming that mental illness means incompetence and inadequacy impact hope and self-esteem, which further impact suicide risk, coping, social interaction, vocational functioning, and symptom severity. Evidence supports most of the predictions made by the model. Implications for psychiatric rehabilitation services are discussed.

Media portrayal of mental illness and its treatments: what effect does it have on people with mental illness?

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Heather

2006-01-01

This article reviews dominant media portrayals of mental illness, the mentally ill and mental health interventions, and examines what social, emotional and treatment-related effects these may have. Studies consistently show that both entertainment and news media provide overwhelmingly dramatic and distorted images of mental illness that emphasise dangerousness, criminality and unpredictability. They also model negative reactions to the mentally ill, including fear, rejection, derision and ridicule. The consequences of negative media images for people who have a mental illness are profound. They impair self-esteem, help-seeking behaviours, medication adherence and overall recovery. Mental health advocates blame the media for promoting stigma and discrimination toward people with a mental illness. However, the media may also be an important ally in challenging public prejudices, initiating public debate, and projecting positive, human interest stories about people who live with mental illness. Media lobbying and press liaison should take on a central role for mental health professionals, not only as a way of speaking out for patients who may not be able to speak out for themselves, but as a means of improving public education and awareness. Also, given the consistency of research findings in this field, it may now be time to shift attention away from further cataloguing of media representations of mental illness to the more challenging prospect of how to use the media to improve the life chances and recovery possibilities for the one in four people living with mental disorders.

The Impact of Various Parental Mental Disorders on Children's Diagnoses: A Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santvoort, F. van; Hosman, C.M.H.; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Doesum, K.T.M. van; Reupert, A.E.; Loon, L.M.A. van

2015-01-01

Children of mentally ill parents are at high risk of developing problems themselves. They are often identified and approached as a homogeneous group, despite diversity in parental diagnoses. Some studies demonstrate evidence for transgenerational equifinality (children of parents with various

The Stigma of Mental Illness as a Barrier to Self Labeling as Having a Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolzenburg, Susanne; Freitag, Simone; Evans-Lacko, Sara; Muehlan, Holger; Schmidt, Silke; Schomerus, Georg

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether personal stigma decreases self-identification as having a mental illness in individuals with untreated mental health problems. We interviewed 207 persons with a currently untreated mental health problem as confirmed by a structured diagnostic interview. Measures included symptom appraisal, self-identification as having a mental illness (SELFI), self-labeling (open-ended question on the nature of their problem) stigma-related variables (explicit and implicit), as well as sociodemographics, current symptom severity, and previous treatment. Support for discrimination and implicit stigmatizing attitude were both associated with lower likelihood of self-identification. More social distance and support for discrimination were associated with less self-labeling. Previous treatment was the strongest predictor of symptom appraisal, SELFI, and self-labeling. Destigmatizing mental illness could increase awareness of personal mental health problems, potentially leading to lower rates of untreated mental illness.

Empowering families with the experience of mental illness. A presentation of the Polish version of CAMILLE training package.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabak, Izabela; Zabłocka-Żytka, Lidia; Czabała, Jan C

2016-01-01

The paper presents the CAMILLE training package prepared in the EU program Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The training is designed for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, teachers and others working with children and adolescents where a parent experiences mental disorders. The project was realized on 4 stages: (1) pre-analyses (quality and quantity) with professionals, family members and people experiencing mental disorders, in regards to the needs, experiences and expectations in education of professionals working with families of parents with mental illness; (2) development of a new pan-European training program for specialists working with these families; (3) pre-pilot implementation and evaluation of the training; (4) preparing of the final version of the training and pilot implementation in 7 countries participating in the project, also in Poland. The training program consists of 9 subjects, divided into 3 main groups: the basic knowledge (mental disorders, child development, attachment), experiences and needs of the families (experiences of parents, children, stigma), methods of family support (talking with children, resilience, successful services). The pilot implementation of the program showed great professionals' interest in the subject and training methods. The evaluation showed significant positive effects of the training in terms of the raise of awareness of influence of the parent's illness on needs of the child, parental abilities and ability of building the child resilience. The CAMILLE training is a valuable program that can be implemented in Poland.

[KIPKEL--an interdisciplinary ambulatory prevention project for children with mentally ill parents].

Science.gov (United States)

Staets, S; Hipp, M

2001-09-01

Children of psychiatrically ill parents up to now have hardly been perceived as a risk group. In order to prevent these children form becoming psychiatrically ill the practice for art-therapy and psychotherapy and the social psychiatric service of the city of Hilden have developed a programme for parents having children under 18 years of age in which at least one parent suffers from endogenous psychosis or severe personality disorder. The two initiators of the KIPKEL project describe the experiences they had during the preparatory phase and while securing the financial basis and building up solid structures of cooperation. The conceptual basis of the project and problems of practical realization are presented. Finally an example of a family who participated in the programme is given. It illustrates the complex arrangement of interpersonal relationship and the course of the carework.

Mental illness in Disney animated films.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Andrea; Fouts, Gregory

2004-05-01

To examine the prevalence of verbalizations about mental illness in the animated feature films of The Walt Disney Company (TWDC). We discuss the results within the context of children's repeated exposure to popular animated movies and their learning of labels and stereotypes associated with mental illness. We recommend further research on this topic. We coded 34 animated feature films produced by TWDC for mental illness references (for example, "crazy" or "nuts"). We developed a coding manual to systematize the content analysis, to ensure accuracy of the data, and to ascertain intercoder reliability. Most of the films (that is, 85%) contain verbal references to mental illness, with an average of 4.6 references per film. The references were mainly used to set apart and denigrate the characters to whom they referred. Twenty-one percent of the principal characters were referred to as mentally ill. We discuss the contributions and limitations of the study. The findings have implications for child viewers in terms of their potentially learning prejudicial attitudes and distancing behaviours toward individuals perceived as being mentally ill. To further verify this connection, an assessment of the incidence of Disney film exposure and attitudes toward people with a mental illness, using a sample of school-aged children, is needed.

Mental health among single and partnered parents in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Kyoung Ae; Choi, Hee Yeon; Kim, Soo In

2017-01-01

This study compares the mental health of single parents relative to partnered parents and assesses the contribution of the social and demographic factors to this difference, examining the gender difference in it. We analyzed 12,024 single and partnered subjects, aged 30-59 years, living with children, aged 0-19 years, drawn from the 4th, 5th, and 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) dataset in South Korea conducted from 2007-2013. Mental health was evaluated by self-reported questionnaires including depressive mood for recent two weeks, presence of suicidal ideation, and the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Covariates included age, physical illness, socioeconomic status (family income, recipient of national basic livelihood guarantees, educational level, house ownership, job, and residential area), family structure, and support (co-residence of another adult). Multiple logistic regression was carried out and the explained fractions of each covariate was calculated. Single parents had significantly poorer mental health than their partnered counterparts, with odds ratio (OR) of 2.02 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-2.63) for depressive symptoms, 1.69 (95% CI 1.27-2.25) for suicidal ideation, and 1.74 (95% CI 1.38-2.20) for any of the three mental health statuses (suspicious depression, suicidal ideation, and alcohol dependence) after controlling for the covariates. The odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 3.13, 95% CI 2.50-3.93) and suicidal ideation (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.97-3.17) among both single fathers and mothers were higher than partnered parents. However, the odds of alcohol dependence were 3.6 times higher among single mothers than partnered mothers (OR = 3.58, 95% CI 1.81-7.08) and were 1.4 times greater among single fathers than partnered fathers (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 0.81-2.25). Socio-economic status explained more than 50% (except for substance use disorders) of the poorer mental health in single

Mental health among single and partnered parents in South Korea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoung Ae Kong

Full Text Available This study compares the mental health of single parents relative to partnered parents and assesses the contribution of the social and demographic factors to this difference, examining the gender difference in it.We analyzed 12,024 single and partnered subjects, aged 30-59 years, living with children, aged 0-19 years, drawn from the 4th, 5th, and 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES dataset in South Korea conducted from 2007-2013. Mental health was evaluated by self-reported questionnaires including depressive mood for recent two weeks, presence of suicidal ideation, and the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Covariates included age, physical illness, socioeconomic status (family income, recipient of national basic livelihood guarantees, educational level, house ownership, job, and residential area, family structure, and support (co-residence of another adult. Multiple logistic regression was carried out and the explained fractions of each covariate was calculated.Single parents had significantly poorer mental health than their partnered counterparts, with odds ratio (OR of 2.02 (95% confidence interval (CI 1.56-2.63 for depressive symptoms, 1.69 (95% CI 1.27-2.25 for suicidal ideation, and 1.74 (95% CI 1.38-2.20 for any of the three mental health statuses (suspicious depression, suicidal ideation, and alcohol dependence after controlling for the covariates. The odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 3.13, 95% CI 2.50-3.93 and suicidal ideation (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.97-3.17 among both single fathers and mothers were higher than partnered parents. However, the odds of alcohol dependence were 3.6 times higher among single mothers than partnered mothers (OR = 3.58, 95% CI 1.81-7.08 and were 1.4 times greater among single fathers than partnered fathers (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 0.81-2.25. Socio-economic status explained more than 50% (except for substance use disorders of the poorer mental health in

Do preventive interventions for children of mentally ill parents work? Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thanhäuser, Martina; Lemmer, Gunnar; de Girolamo, Giovanni; Christiansen, Hanna

2017-07-01

The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most significant causes of psychiatric morbidity. Several risk factors for children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) have been identified in numerous studies and meta-analyses. Many interventions have been developed for this high-risk group, but data about their efficacy are heterogeneous. The current meta-analysis reports on 96 articles including 50 independent samples from randomized controlled trials quantifying effects of preventive interventions for COPMI. Random effect models resulted in small, though significant Effect Sizes (ES) for programs enhancing the mother-infant interaction (ES = 0.26) as well as mothers' (ES = 0.33) and children's (ES = 0.31) behavior that proved to be stable over the 12-month follow-up, except for infants' behavior. Interventions for children/adolescents resulted in significant small effects for global psychopathology (ES = 0.13), as well as internalizing symptoms (ES = 0.17), and increased significantly over time, with externalizing symptoms reaching significance in the follow-up assessments as well (ES = 0.17). Interventions addressing parents and children jointly produced overall larger effects. Higher study quality was associated with smaller effects. There is a dearth of high quality studies that effectively reduce the high risk of COPMI for the development of mental disorders.

The Consequences of Official Labels: An Examination of the Rights Lost by the Mentally Ill and Mentally Incompetent Since 1989.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Andrea M; Klein, Michael S; Hemmens, Craig; Stohr, Mary K; Burton, Velmer S

2016-04-01

This study presents a survey of state statutes which restrict the civil rights of persons with a mental illness or who have been declared mentally incompetent. Five civil rights (voting, holding public office, jury service, parenting, and marriage) are examined. The results of this study are compared with the results of studies conducted in 1989 and 1999 to determine what changes have occurred over time in the restriction of civil rights of those suffering from mental health problems. This comparison reveals that states continue to restrict the rights of the mentally ill and incompetent, and that there is a trend towards increased restriction of political rights, including the right to vote and hold public office.

Burden of Mental Illness and Non-communicable Diseases and Risk Factors for Mental Illness Among Refugees in Buffalo, NY, 2004-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulugeta, Wudeneh; Xue, Hong; Glick, Myron; Min, Jungwon; Noe, Michael F; Wang, Youfa

2018-05-21

Limited is known about mental illness and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors among refugees. These were studied using data collected from a refugee population in Buffalo, NY. Longitudinal data collected on 1055 adults (> 18 years) at a large refugee health center in Buffalo, NY, during 2004-2014 were used. Main outcomes were hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, obesity, overweight/obesity, and mental illness. Risk factors were assessed using multivariate regression models. Compared to those without mental illness, refugees with mental illness had higher rates of hypertension (16.9 vs 28.4%, P mental illness (25.4 to 36.7%, P mental illness (13.0 to 24.5%, P mental illness prevalence among refugees was 16%, ranging from 6.9% among Asians to 43.9% among Cubans. Women were more likely to have mental illness (odds ratio = 2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.68-3.58) than men. Refugees who lived longer in the USA were more likely to carry psychiatric diagnoses (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.04-1.21). Mental illness rates varied considerably across various refugee groups. Rates of obesity and NCDs among refugees with mental illness were higher than among those without mental disorders. Gender, region of origin, and length of stay in the USA were associated with mental illness. Accurate and culturally sensitive screenings and assessments of mental illness are needed to reduce these health disparities.

Mental illness--stigma and discrimination in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapungwe, A; Cooper, S; Mwanza, J; Mwape, L; Sikwese, A; Kakuma, R; Lund, C; Flisher, A J

2010-07-01

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the presence, causes and means of addressing individual and systemic stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness in Zambia. This is to facilitate the development of tailor-made antistigma initiatives that are culturally sensitive for Zambia and other low-income African countries. This is the first in-depth study on mental illness stigma in Zambia. Fifty semi-structured interviews and 6 focus group discussions were conducted with key stakeholders drawn from 3 districts in Zambia (Lusaka, Kabwe and Sinazongwe). Transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Mental illness stigma and discrimination is pervasive across Zambian society, prevailing within the general community, amongst family members, amid general and mental health care providers, and at the level of government. Such stigma appears to be fuelled by misunderstandings of mental illness aetiology; fears of contagion and the perceived dangerousness of people with mental illness; and associations between HIV/AIDS and mental illness. Strategies suggested for reducing stigma and discrimination in Zambia included education campaigns, the transformation of mental health policy and legislation and expanding the social and economic opportunities of the mentally ill. In Zambia, as in many other low-income African countries, very little attention is devoted to addressing the negative beliefs and behaviours surrounding mental illness, despite the devastating costs that ensue. The results from this study underscore the need for greater commitment from governments and policy-makers in African countries to start prioritizing mental illness stigma as a major public health and development issue.

The Other Side of Caring: Adult Children with Mental Illness as Supports to Their Mothers in Later Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Jan Steven

1995-01-01

Discusses the role of adult children with serious mental illness as a source of support to their aging parents. Most mothers reported that their mentally-ill children provided at least some ongoing help with daily living tasks. The adult child's assistance related significantly to lower levels of maternal subjective burden. (RJM)

Mental health consumer parents' recommendations for designing psychoeducation interventions for their minor children.

Science.gov (United States)

Riebschleger, Joanne; Onaga, Esther; Tableman, Betty; Bybee, Deborah

2014-09-01

This research explores consumer parents' recommendations for developing psychoeducation programs for their minor children. Data were drawn from a purposive sample of 3 focus groups of parent consumers of a community mental health agency. The research question was: "What do consumer parents recommend for developing psychoeducation programs for their minor children?" Parents recommended content foci of mental illness, recovery, heritability, stigma, and coping. The next step is youth psychoeducation intervention development and evaluation. Parents, youth, and professionals should be included in the program planning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Insight and satisfaction with life among adolescents with mental disorders: assessing associations with self-stigma and parental insight.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaziel, M; Hasson-Ohayon, I; Morag-Yaffe, M; Schapir, L; Zalsman, G; Shoval, G

2015-02-01

The purpose of the current study was to assess the associations of illness perception-related variables with satisfaction with life (SwL) among adolescents with mental disorders. Insight into mental disorder (SAI-E), Internalized stigma of mental illness (ISMI) and Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) were administrated to 30 adolescent patients. Adapted version for parents of the SAI-E was also administrated to 37 of their parents. Significant positive correlations were found between insight into the illness, self-stigma and parental insight. Insight and self-stigma were significantly negatively related to the total score of SwL and few of its dimensions while parental insight was significantly associated only with the SwL dimensions of school and self. Regression models revealed main negative effects of insight and self-stigma on SwL and no interaction effect. The possible independent contribution of insight and self-stigma to SwL should be addressed in interventions designed for family and adolescents coping with mental illness. Special attention should be given to the possible negative implications that insight possesses. In lack of support of the moderation role of self-stigma, reported in studies among adults with mental illness, future studies should trace other variables in order to further understand the insight paradox among adolescents. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Media and mental illness: Relevance to India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S K Padhy

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Media has a complex interrelationship with mental illnesses. This narrative review takes a look at the various ways in which media and mental illnesses interact. Relevant scientific literature and electronic databases were searched, including Pubmed and GoogleScholar, to identify studies, viewpoints and recommendations using keywords related to media and mental illnesses. This review discusses both the positive and the negative portrayals of mental illnesses through the media. The portrayal of mental health professionals and psychiatric treatment is also discussed. The theories explaining the relationship of how media influences the attitudes and behavior are discussed. Media has also been suggested to be a risk factor for the genesis or exacerbation of mental illnesses like eating disorders and substance use disorders. The potential use of media to understand the psychopathology and plight of those with psychiatric disorders is referred to. The manner in which media can be used as a tool for change to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illnesses is explored.

Context and opportunity: multiple perspectives on parenting by women with a severe mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrow, Susan M; Alexander, Mary Jane; McKinney, Jacki; Lawinski, Terese; Pratt, Christina

2014-09-01

The capabilities framework and a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach frame this study. We consider the real opportunities for parenting available for women with serious mental health diagnoses, despite complications posed by their own capacity, material constraints, social network disruptions, and, by law, custom and policy related to mental health conditions and child custody decisions. We convened focus groups with mothers currently living in shelters apart from their children, service providers in supported housing programs, grandmothers caring for children of mothers with mental health and substance use problems, and a policy discussion with mental health administrators. Qualitative analyses explored common and divergent perspectives on parenting experiences and aspirations of particularly marginalized mothers. Perspectives of mothers and other stakeholders converged in recognizing the parenting challenges facing mothers experiencing homelessness and mental health and substance use problems, but their views on the implications of this diverged sharply. Mothers' current aspirations were limited by contextual obstacles to maintaining contact with children; other stakeholders saw contact as risky and reunification as improbable. All stakeholders described systemic barriers to supporting contact and ongoing mothering roles. Evidence-based parenting interventions require facilitating policy contexts that do not foreclose parenting possibilities for mothers whose current challenges dictate modest immediate parenting goals. CBPR amplifies voices of lived experience to demonstrate what is possible over time for mothers with complex lives and histories. These become possibilities that a person can imagine for herself and are essential to inform the evidence base for practice and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Developing an Australian-first recovery model for parents in Victorian mental health and family services: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Maybery, Darryl; Goodyear, Melinda; Reupert, Andrea; Sheen, Jade; Cann, Warren; Dalziel, Kim; Tchernagovski, Phillip; O'Hanlon, Brendan; von Doussa, Henry

2017-05-26

A considerable number of people with a mental illness are parents caring for dependent children. For those with a mental illness, parenting can provide a sense of competence, belonging, identity and hope and hence is well aligned to the concept of personal recovery. However, little research has focused on the recovery journey of those who are parents and have a mental illness. This randomised controlled trial aims to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention model of recovery for parents (Let's Talk about Children) in three different mental health service sectors and (ii) examine the economic value of a larger roll out (longer term) of the parent recovery model. A two arm parallel randomised controlled trial will be used with participants, who are being treated for their mental illness in adult mental health, non-government community mental health or family welfare services. The study will involve 192 parents, who are considered by their treating practitioner to be sufficiently well to provide informed consent and participate in an intervention (Let's Talk about Children) or control group (treatment as usual). Participant randomisation will occur at the level of the treating practitioner and will be based on whether the randomised practitioner is trained in the intervention. Outcomes are compared at pre, post intervention and six-month follow-up. Recovery, parenting and family functioning, and quality of life questionnaires will be used to measure parent wellbeing and the economic benefits of the intervention. This is the first randomised controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of a parenting intervention on recovery outcomes and the first to provide an economic evaluation of an intervention for parents with a mental illness. An implementation model is required to embed the intervention in different sectors. The trial was retrospectively registered: ACTRN12616000460404 on the 8/4/2016.

Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kaylene; Bradley, Loretta J.

2002-01-01

Each year, an estimated 50 million Americans will experience a mental disorder while only one fourth of them will seek mental health services. Contends that this disparity results from the stigma attached to mental illness. Proposes that counselors must educate the general public about the misconceptions of mental illness and advocate for parity…

Economic expenditures associated with instrumental caregiving roles of adult siblings of persons with severe mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohrer, Steven P; Lukens, Ellen P; Thorning, Helle

2007-04-01

Siblings of persons with mental illness who assume primary caregiving roles experience substantial and tangible economic impacts associated with this responsibility. This study investigated mailed survey responses collected from 156 adult siblings of persons with mental illness from New York State to examine instrumental costs associated with providing support to siblings with illness. Genders of both siblings, severity of the relatives' mental illness, and number of surviving parents in the family distinguished those occupying primary caregiving responsibility from those not in primary roles. Current caregivers incurred greater instrumental costs in the form of financial expenses, time spent in care activities, and crisis involvement than did those who were not primary care providers. Additional demographic and behavioral factors related to siblings with and without illness were associated with specific dimensions of instrumental expenditure. As siblings become increasingly engaged in caregiving, social service professionals must assume leadership in promoting programs and policies that meaningfully support family involvement for relatives with mental illness.

When mothers have serious mental health problems: parenting as a proximal mediator.

Science.gov (United States)

Oyserman, Daphna; Bybee, Deborah; Mowbray, Carol; Hart-Johnson, Tamera

2005-08-01

Maternal mental health (MMH) problems are associated with lack of confidence in one's parenting, overly lax or too harsh discipline, and child academic underperformance. We asked if parenting mediates the effect of MMH problems on academic outcomes even among mothers with serious mental illness (n=164). Structural equation analyses show a significant association between MMH problems and permissive (lack of parenting confidence, lack of follow through) parenting and verbal hostility as well as worse academic outcomes (school recorded grades, teacher reported behaviour). Permissive parenting completely mediated the direct effect of MMH on academic outcomes. Further analyses showed that the mediation effect was attributed to a single component of permissive parenting-lack of parenting confidence.

Directory of Facilities for Mentally Ill Children in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

National Association for Mental Health, New York, NY.

Facilities for mentally ill children are listed by states in this directory for parents and professional people. Each entry includes information on diagnostic considerations, capacity, admission criteria, whether the facility is residential or day care, geographic eligibility, and fees. Separate indexes list residential and day care facilities and…

Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward Offenders With Mental Illness (Insanity Acquittees) in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Adjorlolo, Samuel; Abdul-Nasiru, Inusah; Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Bambi, Laryea Efua

2018-02-01

Mental health professionals' attitudes toward offenders with mental illness have significant implications for the quality of care and treatment rendered, making it imperative for these professionals to be aware of their attitudes. Yet, this topical issue has received little research attention. Consequently, the present study investigates attitudes toward offenders with mental illness (insanity acquittees) in a sample of 113 registered mental health nurses in Ghana. Using a cross-sectional survey and self-report methodology, the participants respond to measures of attitudes toward offenders with mental illness, attitudes toward mental illness, conviction proneness, and criminal blameworthiness. The results show that mental health nurses who reportedly practiced for a longer duration (6 years and above) were more likely to be unsympathetic, while the male nurses who were aged 30 years and above were more likely to hold offenders with mental illness strictly liable for their offenses. Importantly, the nurses' scores in conviction proneness and criminal blameworthiness significantly predict negative attitudes toward the offenders even after controlling for their attitudes toward mental illness. Yet, when the nurses' conviction proneness and criminal blameworthiness were held constant, their attitudes toward mental illness failed to predict attitudes toward the offenders. This initial finding implies that the nurses' views regarding criminal blameworthiness and conviction may be more influential in understanding their attitudes toward offenders with mental illness relative to their attitudes toward mental illness.

Children's understanding of mental illness: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, C; Buchanan-Barrow, E; Barrett, M

2008-01-01

This study aimed to investigate children's thinking about mental illness by employing a well-established framework of adult illness understanding. The study adopted a semistructured interview technique and a card selection task to assess children's responses to causes, consequences, timeline and curability of the different types of mental illness. The children were aged between 5 and 11 years. Results indicated a developmental trend in the children's thinking about mental illness; there was an increase in the children's understanding of the causes, consequences, curability and timeline of mental illness with age. The older children demonstrated a more sophisticated and accurate thinking about mental illness compared with the younger children, who tended to rely on a medical model in order to comprehend novel mental illnesses. Furthermore, the girls exhibited more compassion, showing greater social acceptance compared with the boys. The Leventhal model provides a useful framework within which to investigate children's knowledge and understanding of mental illness. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

Experiencing stigma as a nurse with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, A L

2017-06-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Stigma involves connecting individuals with a particular label to negative characteristics; this is based not on the stigmatized condition itself, but cultural reactions to it. Stigma exists towards nurses with mental illness. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This paper offers a first-person account of experiencing stigma as a nurse with a mental illness. This paper incorporates the existing literature to offer a broader cultural perspective on the experiences of a nurse with a mental illness. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Nurses are likely to encounter a nurse with a mental illness at some point in their practice. Nurses' reactions towards colleagues with mental illness can have significant implications for those colleague(s)' wellbeing. Nurses with mental illness will have to navigate their person and professional journey while giving consideration to the attitudes of their nursing peers and leaders. Limited research has been done on the stigma faced by nurses with mental illness from their nursing peers. Mental illness is not generally considered acceptable within the context of nursing culture, so when nurses do experience mental illness, their experiences in a professional context may be influenced by stereotypes, particularly those relating to dangerousness. Using autoethnography as a research method, the author examines her own subjective experiences of stigma as a nurse with a mental illness, and draws upon existing literature on stigma, deviance and the phenomenon of mental illness in nurses to analyse broader cultural implications for nursing. Assessment of suitability to return to work arises throughout the narratives, and consideration is given to the way that risk assessment by nursing leaders is impacted by negative stereotypes that surround mental illness. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mental illness stigma, secrecy and suicidal ideation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oexle, N; Ajdacic-Gross, V; Kilian, R; Müller, M; Rodgers, S; Xu, Z; Rössler, W; Rüsch, N

2017-02-01

Whether the public stigma associated with mental illness negatively affects an individual, largely depends on whether the person has been labelled 'mentally ill'. For labelled individuals concealing mental illness is a common strategy to cope with mental illness stigma, despite secrecy's potential negative consequences. In addition, initial evidence points to a link between stigma and suicidality, but quantitative data from community samples are lacking. Based on previous literature about mental illness stigma and suicidality, as well as about the potential influence of labelling processes and secrecy, a theory-driven model linking perceived mental illness stigma and suicidal ideation by a mediation of secrecy and hopelessness was established. This model was tested separately among labelled and unlabelled persons using data derived from a Swiss cross-sectional population-based study. A large community sample of people with elevated psychiatric symptoms was examined by interviews and self-report, collecting information on perceived stigma, secrecy, hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Participants who had ever used mental health services were considered as labelled 'mentally ill'. A descriptive analysis, stratified logistic regression models and a path analysis testing a three-path mediation effect were conducted. While no significant differences between labelled and unlabelled participants were observed regarding perceived stigma and secrecy, labelled individuals reported significantly higher frequencies of suicidal ideation and feelings of hopelessness. More perceived stigma was associated with suicidal ideation among labelled, but not among unlabelled individuals. In the path analysis, this link was mediated by increased secrecy and hopelessness. Results from this study indicate that among persons labelled 'mentally ill', mental illness stigma is a contributor to suicidal ideation. One explanation for this association is the relation perceived stigma has with

Mental Illness among Us: A New Curriculum to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma among Medical Students

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Anuj K.; Thompson, Maxwell; Falik, Rebecca; Shaw, Amy; O'Sullivan, Patricia; Lowenstein, Daniel H.

2013-01-01

Objectives: Medical students have been shown to have high levels of psychological distress, including self-stigmatization and unwillingness to seek care. The authors hypothesized that a student-led curriculum involving personal mental illness experience, given during the first-year neuroscience course, and titled "Mental Illness Among Us…

Impact of chronic illness timing and persistence at school entry on child and parent outcomes: Australian longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Quach, Jon; Barnett, Tony

2015-01-01

To understand the prevalence and timing of child chronic illness at school entry; associations with child learning, behavior and health-related quality of life and parent mental health at ages 6 to 7, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11 years; and cumulative health care costs. Data were drawn from the first 4 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Children were aged 4 to 5 years at wave 1, with data collection every 2 years. Parent-reported timing of child chronic illness at school entry was categorized into 4 chronic illness groups based on changes between waves 1 and 2: none, resolving, incident and persistent. Child outcomes included: parent-reported quality of life, parent- and teacher-reported behavior, teacher-reported child learning, teacher-reported child-teacher relationship, directly assessed nonverbal and verbal cognition and parent self-reported mental health. Linear regression, adjusted for gender and socioeconomic position, was used to quantify longitudinal associations between chronic illness timing at school entry with outcomes at age 6 to 7 years, 8 to 9 years and 10 to 11 years. Of the 4983 children enrolled in the study, chronic illness data was available for 4464 children (89.6%) at both waves 1 and 2. From wave 1, 6.1% had a condition that persisted until wave 2, while 14.1% had a condition that resolved. Furthermore, 4.7% had a newly emerging condition at wave 2. Compared with the no chronic illness group, children with persistent or emerging chronic illness during school entry had the poorest outcomes (except father's mental health) at all time points, while children with resolving conditions had smaller differences. Child chronic illness at school entry is associated with poorer longitudinal child and maternal outcomes. Therefore, future research should aim to determine the risk and protective factors that contribute to the poorer child and parent outcomes experienced in this growing population. Copyright © 2015 Academic Pediatric

Perceived Mental Illness Stigma, Intimate Relationships, and Sexual Risk Behavior in Youth with Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Elkington, Katherine S.; Hackler, Dusty; Walsh, Tracy A.; Latack, Jessica A.; McKinnon, Karen; Borges, Cristiane; Wright, Eric R.; Wainberg, Milton L.

2013-01-01

The current study examines the role of mental illness-related stigma on romantic or sexual relationships and sexual behavior among youth with mental illness (MI), including youths' experiences of stigma, the internalization of these experiences, and the behavior associated with managing stigma within romantic and sexual relationships. We conducted…

Children of Parents With Serious Mental Illness: With Whom Do They Grow Up? A Prospective, Population-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranning, Anne; Munk Laursen, Thomas; Thorup, Anne; Hjorthøj, Carsten; Nordentoft, Merete

2016-11-01

To provide an overview of living arrangements during childhood for children of parents with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. Information was obtained from Danish registers on children's addresses and used to calculate the proportion living in different household living arrangements. The study was conducted as a prospective, register-based cohort study covering all children in the entire Danish population born after 1982 (N = 1,823,625) and their parents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or none of these disorders. Regression analyses were performed assessing the risk of dissolution of the conjugal family. Children's living arrangements were characterized by fewer nuclear families and more single-parent-headed households when parents had serious mental illness (SMI). From birth, 15% to 20% of children lived with a single mother with SMI. Conjugal families were dissolved at higher rates if a parent had SMI, especially if the mother (incidence rate ratio 2.98; 95% CI 2.80-3.17) or the father (incidence rate ratio 2.60; 95% CI 2.47-2.74) had schizophrenia. Risks for family dissolution varied greatly with parents' socioeconomic position in all diagnostic groups. Parents' SMI affects children's family living arrangements because fewer children live with both parents and more children live with a single parent or are separated from both parents. Family cohesion seems especially difficult to maintain when parents have schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The stigma of mental illness in the labor market.

Science.gov (United States)

Hipes, Crosby; Lucas, Jeffrey; Phelan, Jo C; White, Richard C

2016-03-01

Mental illness labels are accompanied by devaluation and discrimination. We extend research on reactions to mental illness by utilizing a field experiment (N = 635) to test effects of mental illness labels on labor market discrimination. This study involved sending fictitious applications to job listings, some applications indicating a history of mental illness and some indicating a history of physical injury. In line with research indicating that mental illness leads to stigma, we predicted fewer callbacks to candidates with mental illness. We also predicted relatively fewer callbacks for applicants with mental illness when the jobs involved a greater likelihood for interpersonal contact with the employer. Results showed significant discrimination against applicants with mental illness, but did not indicate an effect of potential proximity to the employer. This contributes a valuable finding in a natural setting to research on labor market discrimination towards people with mental illness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do informal caregivers in mental illness feel more burdened? A comparative study of mental versus somatic illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hastrup, Lene H; Van Den Berg, Bernard; Gyrd-Hansen, Dorte

2011-08-01

This study investigates a possible added subjective burden among informal caregivers to care recipients with a mental illness or a combination of mental and somatic illnesses compared with caregivers to care recipients with a somatic illness. The study also investigates the subjective caregiver burden by caregivers' characteristics and objective burden. The association between subjective caregiver burden and socio-demographic factors, objective burden, and health-related quality of life was analyzed in a population of 865 Dutch informal caregivers, using multiple linear regression analysis. Controlling for other factors in the analysis, we found that caring for a recipient with mental illness or a combination of mental and somatic illness was associated with an extra subjective caregiver burden (measured by Caregiver Strain Index). Objective burden, in terms of more than 50 hours of care provision per week, less than three years of caregiving, or living together with the care recipients was associated with higher subjective caregiver burden. Other factors associated with higher subjective caregiver burden were being partners or a child of care recipient, having a paid job, a low health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), or having an illness. This study suggests that caregivers to care recipients with a mental and especially a combination of mental and somatic illnesses have a higher subjective caregiver burden compared with caregivers to care recipients with a somatic illness. Because the study is not representative of all caregivers, more research focusing on identifying and contacting informal caregivers is needed to confirm the result.

Suicide and mental illness in parents and risk of suicide in offspring: a birth cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Holger J; Mortensen, Erik L; Wang, August G

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: A family history of completed suicide and psychiatric illness has been identified as risk factors for suicide. AIMS: To examine the risk of offspring suicide in relation to parental history of suicide and other parental risk factors. METHOD: The study population consisted of 7,177 adult...... the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register. RESULTS: Forty-eight cohort members, 77 mothers and 133 fathers had committed suicide during the follow-up. Independent of parental psychiatric illness and social status, parental suicide significantly increased suicide risk in offspring (hazard ratio 4...

Suicide and mental illness in parents and risk of suicide in offspring : A birth cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Holger; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Wang, August

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: A family history of completed suicide and psychiatric illness has been identified as risk factors for suicide. AIMS: To examine the risk of offspring suicide in relation to parental history of suicide and other parental risk factors. METHOD: The study population consisted of 7,177 adult...... the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register. RESULTS: Forty-eight cohort members, 77 mothers and 133 fathers had committed suicide during the follow-up. Independent of parental psychiatric illness and social status, parental suicide significantly increased suicide risk in offspring (hazard ratio 4...

Community Perceptions of Mental Illness in Jharkhand, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangeeta, S J; Mathew, K J

2017-09-01

Understanding and perceptions about mental illness vary among individuals based on their experience with the illness or their contact with the people affected by it. These may be further influenced by the individuals' sociocultural background. This study aimed to understand the differences in the beliefs about, understanding of, and explanations for mental illness between different population groups of Jharkhand, India. During July 2014 to February 2016, we recruited the following 3 groups of individuals aged between 18 and 60 years: individuals with mental illness (group 1, n = 240), relatives of individuals with mental illness (group 2, n = 240), and the general public (group 3, n = 240). Qualitative and quantitative findings were combined in this study, and participants were asked about their beliefs about, understanding of, and explanations about mental illness. Individuals with mental illness and their relatives shared similar beliefs whereas the general public held a different opinion in various domains. There were significant differences among all groups in their understanding of various aspects of mental illnesses including the definition, causes, signs and symptoms, treatment, and outcomes. Individuals' perception towards different aspects of mental illness varies, despite they are sharing the same sociocultural milieu. Differences in beliefs, understanding, and explanations may lead to conflicts in treatment goals and expectations, and hamper the intervention strategies that promote mental health and patient care. Focused strategies to develop uniformity in beliefs and explanations about various aspects of mental illness may help to develop collaboration with different community groups that may in turn help in developing effective interventions and treatment.

Major Mental Illness in Those Who Sexually Abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Moulden, Heather M; Marshall, Liam E

2017-11-09

There is evidence showing an increasing prevalence of mental illness in those in conflict with the law. However, there are many factors affecting the detection, treatment, and management of criminals who are mentally ill. Sex offenders with major mental illness present many challenges to those providing treatment and management services. For example, it is important to consider whether sexually offensive behavior is the cause of criminal behavior or whether it is reflective of an antisocial orientation. Recent evidence suggests it may help better understand and inform risk assessment and management. This paper will review the literature on mental illness among sexual offenders, present a typology to aid in the assessment, treatment, and management of sexual offender with mental illness, and highlight important considerations when providing treatment to sexual offenders with mental illness.

Stigma of mental illness and substance misuse in sub-Saharan African migrants: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

McCann, Terence V; Renzaho, Andre; Mugavin, Janette; Lubman, Dan I

2018-06-01

Stigma of mental illness and substance misuse can deter help seeking, especially in immigrants who are often reluctant to seek help early for these issues. The aim of the present study was to explore the stigma experience surrounding mental illness and substance misuse, and its implications for improving help seeking, for youths and parents from sub-Saharan African immigrant communities. A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Individual interviews were undertaken with 28 youths, and focus group discussions were held with 41 parents and community leaders in Melbourne, Australia. The findings indicated that public stigma and self-stigma were common and deterred participants' help seeking within sub-Saharan African communities. There was concern about the consequences of disclosure. Personal shame, fear of community rejection, and being labelled a 'lunatic' deterred help seeking. Programmes are needed to address stigma, promote help seeking, and increase mental health knowledge. Mental health nurses and other clinicians in the mental health and alcohol and other drug fields can make an important contribution. Steps are needed to employ more sub-Saharan African immigrant clinicians to help increase help seeking from their communities. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

The effects of parent-child relationships on later life mental health status in two national birth cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Z; Brugha, T; Fryers, T; Stewart-Brown, S

2012-11-01

Abusive and neglectful parenting is an established determinant of adult mental illness, but longitudinal studies of the impact of less severe problems with parenting have yielded inconsistent findings. In the face of growing interest in mental health promotion, it is important to establish the impact of this potentially remediable risk factor. 8,405 participants in the 1958 UK birth cohort study, and 5,058 in the 1970 birth cohort study questionnaires relating to the quality of relationships with parents completed at age 16 years. 12-item General Health Questionnaire and the Malaise Inventory collected at age 42 years (1958 cohort) and 30 years (1970 cohort). Statistical methodology: logistic regression analyses adjusting for sex, social class and teenage mental health problems. 1958 cohort: relationships with both mother and father predicted mental health problems in adulthood; increasingly poor relationships were associated with increasing mental health problems at age 42 years. 1970 cohort: positive items derived from the Parental Bonding Instrument predicted reduced risk of mental health problems; negative aspects predicted increased risk at age 30 years. Odds of mental health problems were increased between 20 and 80% in fully adjusted models. Results support the hypothesis that problems with parent-child relationships that fall short of abuse and neglect play a part in determining adult mental health and suggest that interventions to support parenting now being implemented in many parts of the Western world may reduce the prevalence of mental illness in adulthood.

The characteristics of family functioning with mentally ill children and adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelkić Milica

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. The family functioning and characteristics are the major risk factors in the genesis and persistence of mental disorders in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of functioning of family with mentally ill children and adolescents. Methods. This study explored 47 families with a child/adolescent suffering from mental disorders and 47 families of age matched healthy children/adolescents. The socio-demographic questionnaire, Social Adaptation Self-evaluation scale (SASS and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES III (Olson, 1983 were completed by parents. Results. For all three FACES III dimensions multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA showed significant differences between groups ( Wilks λ = .887; F = 3.839; df = 3; p = 0.012. Univariate analysis results showed significant differences for cohesiveness F = 6.99 p = 0.001 and adaptability F = 10.07 p = 0 .001. The analysis of the social adaption (SASS assessment showed that the mean score for clinical vs. non-clinical group was 39.66 ± 6.82 vs. 38.06 ± 8.44 without significant difference between groups (p = 0.32. The families of mentally ill children showed frequently lower socioeconomic status and education level, higher number of children per family, and broken home. Conclusion. The results suggested that cohesiveness and adaptability were significantly more prominent among families with mentaly ill children, but adaptation was similar to families with healthy children. It would be useful to evaluate adaptability, cohesiveness and adaptation of primary families when planning prevention and rehabillitation of mentally ill children and adolescent.

Constructing mental illness as dangerous: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, C; Nairn, R; Coverdale, J; Panapa, A

1999-04-01

There is a dearth of studies examining how dangerousness is constructed in media depictions of mentally ill individuals who are frequently portrayed as acting violently. The aim of the present study was to identify the contribution of diverse technical, semiotic and discursive resources utilised in portraying a character with a mental illness in a prime-time drama as dangerous. Discourse analytic techniques, involving systematic, repeated, critical viewings, were applied to a single program drawn from a sample of prime-time television drama episodes touching on mental illness. Nine devices (appearance, music and sound effects, lighting, language, intercutting, jump-cutting, point of view shots, horror conventions and intertextuality) were identified as contributing to the signified dangerousness of person receiving care in the community for a mental illness. These techniques combine in signifying mental illness and a person suffering from it as dangerous. The findings suggest that mental health professionals working to reduce the stigma of mental illness need to have a reasonably sophisticated understanding of the practices and priorities of television production if they are to collaborate effectively with producers to create dramas that convey more human and sympathetic understandings of mental illness or to combat the negative effects of such portrayals.

Depressive symptoms among children whose parents have serious ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Sixty-eight per cent of women and 57% of men with mental illness are parents. There is increasing evidence of adverse psychosocial impact of parental mental illness on their children. However, among children whose parents have mental illness, the potential contribution of the children's beliefs about mental ...

Cultural Variation in Implicit Mental Illness Stigma

OpenAIRE

Cheon, Bobby K.; Chiao, Joan Y.

2012-01-01

Culture shapes how individuals perceive and respond to others with mental illness. Prior studies have suggested that Asians and Asian Americans typically endorse greater stigma of mental illness compared to Westerners (White Europeans and Americans). However, whether these differences in stigma arise from cultural variations in automatic affective reactions or deliberative concerns of the appropriateness of one’s reactions to mental illness remains unknown. Here we compared implicit and expli...

Children of mothers diagnosed with serious mental illness: patterns and predictors of service use.

Science.gov (United States)

Mowbray, Carol T; Lewandowski, Lisa; Bybee, Deborah; Oyserman, Daphna

2004-09-01

Children who have a parent diagnosed with a mental illness are at risk of psychiatric and behavioral problems; yet, these children do not necessarily receive needed services. Research has investigated correlates of child mental health service use, but not for these high-risk children. This study is part of an NIMH-funded, longitudinal investigation and describes child problems, service use, and predictors of service use for 506 children of 252 mothers diagnosed with serious mental illness. Mothers are primarily poor, minority women from urban areas. A multilevel-model approach is used to examine service use for multiple siblings in a family. More than one third of children had received services (from school or mental health agencies) in their lifetimes. Service use was predicted by child demographic characteristics (being male, non-African American, and older), social context variables (more negative life events, less financial satisfaction, and more parenting dissatisfaction), and maternal psychiatric variables (positively by high levels of case management receipt and affective diagnoses, negatively by maternal substance abuse history). In a subsample of "target children," mothers' rating of child behavior problems additionally predicted service use. Implications of results for research and intervention are discussed.

The changing face of newspaper representations of the mentally ill.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Neil A; Fatoye, Francis; Wibberley, Christopher

2013-06-01

Negative stereotypes presented in the media may contribute to the stigma associated with mental illness. People's attitudes towards the mentally ill are initially influenced and subsequently maintained in part by the frequent media presentation of negative stereotypes of mental illness. This could result in social rejection of individuals with mental illnesses. To explore how four main U.K. national newspapers reported on mental health/mental illness stories over a 10-year period. This study utilised content analysis to identify words, themes and trends of representation related to the mentally ill in articles from the four newspapers. The findings indicated that there was an increase in the number of articles related to mental health/illness over the time of the study. The rate of increase was far greater than that for the increase in the total number of articles carried in the press over this time period. It was also identified that pejorative terms were used, in a number of the articles, to describe the mentally ill person. Many of the newspaper reports highlighted the need for protection of the general public from the mentally ill, and that the mentally ill were in some way different to the general public. In particular, both the words "violence" and "drugs" were linked to mental health/mental illness in these articles.

[Social exclusion and discrimination of chronically mentally ill people in the Lodz region].

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmus, Paweł; Nowaczyńska, Ewa; Stetkiewicz-Lewandowicz, Agnieszka; Rasmus, Alicja; Sobów, Tomasz

2013-11-01

Mental crisis exerts a negative effect on somatic, psychological and social functioning of a mentally ill person. Mental disease is often accompanied by factors increasing the social exclusion and discrimination of patients. Another problem is deeply rooted stereotypes and prejudices functioning in the public opinion, according to which people who suffer from mental disorder are considered insane and often dangerous for society. In Poland, thanks to, amongst others, the ESF (The European Social Fund) funds, it is possible to finance and implement research concerning social exclusion and discrimination of people who have experienced a mental crisis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of social exclusion and discrimination of people suffering from mental disorders from the Lodz region on the basis of seven points scale assessing their personal, occupational, and social functioning. MATERIAL AND METHODS; The study included a group of 101 patients with mental disorders. Participants were selected randomly from mental health institutions from the region of Lodz. To evaluate the problem of social exclusion in the group of patients a interview questionnaire was used. Social exclusion concerned people suffering from schizophrenia and psychosis, more than six years of illness, those with allocated disability pension, non-working and non-learning, with the lowest levels of education and maintaining a one-person household or living with one parent. Those who experienced the lowest degree of social exclusion were mainly people suffering from mood disorders, people with higher education, learning and working, living with both parents. Groups experiencing discrimination were mostly people with schizophrenia, disorders due to psychoactive substances, those with secondary and professional education, patients having a certificate of disability and maintaining a one-person household. Social exclusion of mentally ill people was mainly related to their low education, civic

[The stigma of mental illness: concepts, forms, and consequences].

Science.gov (United States)

Rüsch, Nicolas; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Corrigan, Patrick W

2005-07-01

Persons with mental illness frequently encounter public stigma and may suffer from self-stigma. We aim to clarify the concept of mental illness stigma and discuss important consequences for people with mental illness. A search of scientific literature on mental illness stigma was conducted with a focus on conceptually relevant empirical studies. After giving a conceptual overview of stigma, we elaborate on the consequences of stigma, focussing on self-stigma/empowerment, coping behaviour, fear of stigma as a barrier to using health services, and on structural discrimination. Main strategies to reduce stigma -- protest, education, and contact -- are discussed. Stigma is of central importance to persons with mental illness, both to how they experience their illness and its consequences and whether they use available health services. Well-designed anti-stigma initiatives will help to diminish the impact of mental illness stigma.

Administrative Segregation for Mentally Ill Inmates

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keefe, Maureen L.

2007-01-01

Largely the result of prison officials needing to safely and efficiently manage a volatile inmate population, administrative segregation or supermax facilities are criticized as violating basic human needs, particularly for mentally ill inmates. The present study compared Colorado offenders with mental illness (OMIs) to nonOMIs in segregated and…

Estimating the true global burden of mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Vigo, Daniel; Thornicroft, Graham; Atun, Rifat

2016-02-01

We argue that the global burden of mental illness is underestimated and examine the reasons for under-estimation to identify five main causes: overlap between psychiatric and neurological disorders; the grouping of suicide and self-harm as a separate category; conflation of all chronic pain syndromes with musculoskeletal disorders; exclusion of personality disorders from disease burden calculations; and inadequate consideration of the contribution of severe mental illness to mortality from associated causes. Using published data, we estimate the disease burden for mental illness to show that the global burden of mental illness accounts for 32·4% of years lived with disability (YLDs) and 13·0% of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), instead of the earlier estimates suggesting 21·2% of YLDs and 7·1% of DALYs. Currently used approaches underestimate the burden of mental illness by more than a third. Our estimates place mental illness a distant first in global burden of disease in terms of YLDs, and level with cardiovascular and circulatory diseases in terms of DALYs. The unacceptable apathy of governments and funders of global health must be overcome to mitigate the human, social, and economic costs of mental illness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the emotional and behavioral problems of children of patients with cancer or a mental disorder and their association with parental quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Krattenmacher, Thomas; Kühne, Franziska; Halverscheid, Susanne; Wiegand-Grefe, Silke; Bergelt, Corinna; Romer, Georg; Möller, Birgit

2014-03-01

To compare the emotional and behavioral problems of children of patients suffering from cancer or a mental disorder and their association with parental quality of life. A total of 223 children from 136 families and their 160 parents were investigated from multiple perspectives in a cross-sectional study. The consistency of different adjustment reports between family members was examined. Through mixed models, the differences between parental HRQoL and the children's symptomatology were studied with regard to the type of parental illness. The prediction of children's adjustment through parental HRQoL was further examined. Additionally, gender and age of the children were considered. Half of the children exhibited psychosocial problems. Gender and age differences were independent of the type of parental disease. In families with parental cancer, the reports of children's adjustment were more consistent between family members than in families where a parental mental disorder was present. We found differences in HRQoL between families with mentally ill parents and those with parental cancer patients. Specifically, the healthy partners of mentally ill parents showed worse HRQoL compared with healthy partners of cancer patients. Healthy parents' reduced HRQoL was associated with worse adjustment in their children, regardless of the type of parental illness, but this result was not found for ill parents. Family members confronted with parental cancer or mental disorders are more burdened compared with those from the "normal" population, independently of the type of disease. Our results indicate that the type of a parental disease has no direct effect on children's adjustment. However, there are disease-specific effects on parental HRQoL, which are associated with children's adjustment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Fight against Stigma toward Mental Illness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olcay Cam

2010-02-01

Full Text Available In many health conditions, stigma is receiving increasing attention. Public stigmatization toward mental illness can affect particularly the patients and family memberships to help seeking behavior and treatment. These stigmatized persons in the society are deprived of rights and benefits. In this paper, reasons and consequences of stigma associated with mental illness are reviewed and combat against mental illnesses originated stigma are discussed. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2010; 9(1.000: 71-78

Children of mentally ill parents—a pilot study of a group intervention program

OpenAIRE

Christiansen, Hanna; Anding, Jana; Schrott, Bastian; Röhrle, Bernd

2015-01-01

Objective: The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most prominent risk factors for the development of psychological disorders. Children of mentally ill parents are a vulnerable high risk group with overall impaired development and high rates of psychological disorders. To date there are only a few evidence based intervention programs for this group overall and hardly any in Germany. We translated the evidence based Family Talk Intervention by Beardslee (2009) and ...

Interwoven histories: Mental health nurses with experience of mental illness, qualitative findings from a mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Oates, Jennifer; Drey, Nicholas; Jones, Julia

2018-02-15

The effects of mental health nurses' own experience of mental illness or being a carer have rarely been researched beyond the workplace setting. This study aimed to explore how the experience of mental illness affects mental health nurses' lives outside of and inside work. A sample of 26 mental health nurses with personal experience of mental illness took part in semistructured interviews. Data were analysed thematically using a six-phase approach. The analysis revealed the broad context of nurses' experiences of mental illness according to three interwoven themes: mental illness as part of family life; experience of accessing services; and life interwoven with mental illness. Participants typically described personal and familial experience of mental illness across their life course, with multiple causes and consequences. The findings suggest that nurses' lives outside of work should be taken into account when considering the impact of their personal experience of mental illness. Similarly being a nurse influences how mental illness is experienced. Treatment of nurses with mental illness should account for their nursing expertise whilst recognizing that the context for nurses' mental illness could be much broader than the effect of workplace stress. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Attitudes toward mental illness in adults by mental illness-related factors and chronic disease status: 2007 and 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobau, Rosemarie; Zack, Matthew M

2013-11-01

We examined how attitudes toward mental illness treatment and its course differ by serious psychological distress, mental illness treatment, chronic disease, and sociodemographic factors using representative state-based data. Using data from jurisdictions supporting the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System's Mental Illness and Stigma Module (35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico), we compared adjusted proportions of adults agreeing that "Treatment can help people with mental illness lead normal lives" (treatment effectiveness) and that "People are generally caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness" (supportive environment), by demographic characteristics, serious psychological distress, chronic disease status, and mental illness treatment. Attitudes regarding treatment effectiveness and a supportive environment for people with mental illness varied within and between groups. Most adults receiving mental illness treatment agreed that treatment is effective. Fewer adults with serious psychological distress than those without such distress agreed that treatment is effective. Fewer of those receiving treatment, those with psychological distress, and those with chronic disease perceived the environment as supportive. These data can be used to target interventions for population subgroups with less favorable attitudes and for surveillance.

Biogenetic models of psychopathology, implicit guilt, and mental illness stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüsch, Nicolas; Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V; Corrigan, Patrick W

2010-10-30

Whereas some research suggests that acknowledgment of the role of biogenetic factors in mental illness could reduce mental illness stigma by diminishing perceived responsibility, other research has cautioned that emphasizing biogenetic aspects of mental illness could produce the impression that mental illness is a stable, intrinsic aspect of a person ("genetic essentialism"), increasing the desire for social distance. We assessed genetic and neurobiological causal attributions about mental illness among 85 people with serious mental illness and 50 members of the public. The perceived responsibility of persons with mental illness for their condition, as well as fear and social distance, was assessed by self-report. Automatic associations between Mental Illness and Guilt and between Self and Guilt were measured by the Brief Implicit Association Test. Among the general public, endorsement of biogenetic models was associated with not only less perceived responsibility, but also greater social distance. Among people with mental illness, endorsement of genetic models had only negative correlates: greater explicit fear and stronger implicit self-guilt associations. Genetic models may have unexpected negative consequences for implicit self-concept and explicit attitudes of people with serious mental illness. An exclusive focus on genetic models may therefore be problematic for clinical practice and anti-stigma initiatives. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review of the economic impact of mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Christopher M; Kinchin, Irina

2017-11-13

Objective To examine the impact and cost associated with mental illness. Methods A rapid review of the literature from Australia, New Zealand, UK and Canada was undertaken. The review included literature pertaining to the cost-of-illness and impact of mental illness as well as any modelling studies. Included studies were categorised according to impact on education, labour force engagement, earlier retirement or welfare dependency. The well-accepted Drummond 10-point economic appraisal checklist was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results A total of 45 methodologically diverse studies were included. The studies highlight the significant burden mental illness places on all facets of society, including individuals, families, workplaces and the wider economy. Mental illness results in a greater chance of leaving school early, a lower probability of gaining full-time employment and a reduced quality of life. Research from Canada suggests that the total economic costs associated with mental illness will increase six-fold over the next 30 years with costs likely to exceed A$2.8 trillion (based on 2015 Australian dollars). Conclusions Mental illness is associated with a high economic burden. Further research is required to develop a better understanding of the trajectory and burden of mental illness so that resources can be directed towards cost-effective interventions. What is known about the topic? Although mental illness continues to be one of the leading contributors to the burden of disease, there is limited information on the economic impact that mental illness imposes on individuals, families, workplaces and the wider economy. What does this paper add? This review provides a summary of the economic impact and cost of mental illness. The included literature highlights the significant burden mental illness places on individuals, families, workplaces, society and the economy in general. The review identified several areas for improvement. For example, only

Behaviour of police officials towards mentally ill persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damir Juras

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The authors demonstrate the behaviour of police towards mentally ill individuals de lege lata and de lege ferenda. For this, they use an analysis of the existing Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Act, the draft of the new law which regulates that area, examples from practice, statistical data and the viewpoints of the legal and medical professions. This article points out the most frequent application of police powers when dealing with mentally ill persons and certain quandaries about the practice of admitting mentally ill persons into psychiatric institutions when they are a danger to themselves and others, that is, in the case of providing help to health workers dealing with mentally ill persons. Statistical data for the area of the Republic of Croatia point to a slight trend in the increase of police interventions over the last five years and also in the professional police approach towards such individuals. In conclusion, the coordinated activity of all services dealing with mentally ill persons is proposed as are additional education and the specialisation of police officials dealing with such persons. Furthermore, the need for balance between the necessity to protect the rights of mentally ill persons and the protection of rights and the security of the surroundings in which such persons live and the security of the entire community are pointed out.

Mental illness and mental health: The two continua model across the lifespan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerhof, Gerben Johan; Keyes, Cory L.M.

2010-01-01

Mental health has long been defined as the absence of psychopathologies, such as depression and anxiety. The absence of mental illness, however, is a minimal outcome from a psychological perspective on lifespan development. This article therefore focuses on mental illness as well as on three core

Adolescent construction of mental illness: implication for engagement and treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chisholm, Katharine; Patterson, Paul; Greenfield, Sheila; Turner, Erin; Birchwood, Max

2016-05-11

Understanding how adolescents perceive mental illness is important for clinicians wishing to improve engagement, and for the development of educational programmes and health-behaviour directed policies. The current research aimed to develop a preliminary model of how adolescents perceive mental illness and construct their understanding of mental health. Forty-six participants aged 11-18 from six schools in Birmingham, UK, took part in one of 12 group interviews. A thematic analysis highlighted a dual perception of mental illness. Adolescents discussed stereotypes and extreme examples of illness, but also displayed an insightful understanding of mental distress which had developed through participants' own experiences. Participants attempted to reconcile and negotiate these conflicting perceptions by creating distinctions between concepts of 'craziness' and 'normality', and reported experiencing negative emotions relating to both perceptions of illness. The findings suggest that once media stereotypes have been acknowledged, adolescents demonstrate a relatively sophisticated understanding of mental illness, although one which differed at times from the diagnostic medical model of mental illness. Focusing on individual symptoms, prevalence rates and prior contact adolescents have had with individuals with mental illnesses provides a framework to discuss mental health and ill-health with adolescents. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Culturally prescribed beliefs about mental illness among the Akan of Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Opare-Henaku, Annabella; Utsey, Shawn O

2017-08-01

Mental illness is a culturally laden phenomenon, and different cultures have unique ways of constructing mental illness. In this study, conceptions of mental illness were explored among 30 participants of Akan descent in Ghana through individual and group interviews. Participants demonstrated a wide range of knowledge on mental illness indicating that poor self-care, deficits in social functioning, and disordered behaviors are the cardinal features of mental illness. The data revealed that Akan cultural beliefs influenced notions of etiology of mental illness and care of the mentally ill. While participants recognized the role of multiple factors such as genetics, substance abuse, daily hassles (for example, concerns about basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter), and trauma in the cause of mental illness, the predominant belief was that mental illness is a retributive and/or a spiritual illness. This belief encourages pluralistic health-seeking behaviors: use of hospitals, prayer camps, herbalists, and traditional healers. The implications of these findings for public health education on mental illness, and clinical training and practice are discussed.

Mental Retardation and Parenting Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleni Siamaga

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Backround: The presence, upbringing and looking after of a mentally retarded child in the family, can become a threat to the mental health of its parents and is the main predisposing factor of stress for the parents.Aim: The purpose of this systematic review is (a to document the contemporary research bibliography related to the stress of parents with mentally retarded children, (b to aggregate the factors and secondary parameters based on the contemporary research related to the influence of the (child’s mental retardation on the parents and (c to show an intercultural aspect regarding the presence of stress to parents with mentally retarded children.Methods: Systematic review of research articles published in scientific journals included in the international academic databases HEAL-LING, SAGE, ELSEVIER, WILSON, SCIENCEDIRECT, MEDLINE, PUBMED, PsycINFO, Cochrane, EMBASE, SCIRUS and CINAHL having as search criteria and key words the terms («parental stress and mental retardation» [MeSH], «parenting stress and persons with special needs» [MeSH], «mental retardation and family problems» [MeSH], «stress and parents» [MeSH], «parenting and stress» [MeSH], «mental delay and parents» [MeSH], «developmental disabilities and family stress» [MeSH], «intellectual handicap and parenting» [MeSH], «maternal stress and child with disabilities» [MeSH].Discussion: The review has proven that all forms of mental retardation have an important -from a statistic point of viewimpacton the parents’ mental health. Anxiety, stress and depression are common symptoms mentioned by the parents.Additionally, there are individual variables such as the husband-wife relationship, the parents’ approach to their child’s disability, the parental strategies used in order to cope with the daily life of the child’s disability and the behavioural problems of their child, all of which contribute to the increase of the level of parental stress

Leading indicators of community-based violent events among adults with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dorn, R A; Grimm, K J; Desmarais, S L; Tueller, S J; Johnson, K L; Swartz, M S

2017-05-01

The public health, public safety and clinical implications of violent events among adults with mental illness are significant; however, the causes and consequences of violence and victimization among adults with mental illness are complex and not well understood, which limits the effectiveness of clinical interventions and risk management strategies. This study examined interrelationships between violence, victimization, psychiatric symptoms, substance use, homelessness and in-patient treatment over time. Available data were integrated from four longitudinal studies of adults with mental illness. Assessments took place at baseline, and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months, depending on the parent studies' protocol. Data were analysed with the autoregressive cross-lag model. Violence and victimization were leading indicators of each other and affective symptoms were a leading indicator of both. Drug and alcohol use were leading indicators of violence and victimization, respectively. All psychiatric symptom clusters - affective, positive, negative, disorganized cognitive processing - increased the likelihood of experiencing at least one subsequent symptom cluster. Sensitivity analyses identified few group-based differences in the magnitude of effects in this heterogeneous sample. Violent events demonstrated unique and shared indicators and consequences over time. Findings indicate mechanisms for reducing violent events, including trauma-informed therapy, targeting internalizing and externalizing affective symptoms with cognitive-behavioral and psychopharmacological interventions, and integrating substance use and psychiatric care. Finally, mental illness and violence and victimization research should move beyond demonstrating concomitant relationships and instead focus on lagged effects with improved spatio-temporal contiguity.

Art promoting mental health literacy and a positive attitude towards people with experience of mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Eugen; Shrimpton, Bradley

2014-03-01

Exhibitions of art by people with experience of mental illness are increasingly being staged to improve awareness of mental health issues in the general community and to counter the stigma of mental illness. However, few exhibitions have incorporated research to ascertain their actual effectiveness. This paper reports the results of a study that considered the responses of 10,000 people after they viewed exhibitions of art produced by people with experience of mental illness. These works were selected from the Cunningham Dax Collection, one of the world's most extensive collection of artworks by people with experience of mental illness and/or psychological trauma. More than 90% of respondents agreed with three propositions that the exhibitions helped them: (1) gain a better understanding of mental illness; (2) gain a more sympathetic understanding of the suffering of people with mental illness; and (3) appreciate the ability and creativity of people with mental illness. The results suggest that exhibitions can successfully promote mental health literacy and contribute to positive attitudes towards people with experience of mental illness. This paper explores these findings and raises questions about how the presentation of artworks in an exhibition influences their effectiveness in mental health promotion.

Interprofessional education in mental health: An opportunity to reduce mental illness stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Maranzan, K Amanda

2016-05-01

Mental illness stigma is a common problem in healthcare students and professionals in addition to the general public. Stigma is associated with numerous negative outcomes and hence there is an urgent need to address it. This article explores the potential for interprofessional education (IPE) to emerge as a strategy to reduce mental illness stigma amongst healthcare students and professionals. Most anti-stigma strategies use a combination of knowledge and contact (with a person with lived experience) to change attitudes towards mental illness. Not surprisingly interprofessional educators are well acquainted with theory and learning approaches for attitude change as they are already used in IPE to address learners' attitudes and perceptions of themselves, other professions, and/or teamwork. This article, through an analysis of IPE pedagogy and learning methods, identifies opportunities to address mental illness stigma with application of the conditions that facilitate stigma reduction. The goal of this article is to raise awareness of the issue of mental illness stigma amongst healthcare students and professionals and to highlight interprofessional education as an untapped opportunity for change.

Treatment of Children with Mental Illness: Frequently Asked Questions about the Treatment of Mental Illness in Children

Science.gov (United States)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2009

2009-01-01

Research shows that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. Scientists are discovering that changes in the body leading to mental illness may start much earlier, before any symptoms appear. Through greater understanding of when and how fast specific areas of children's brains develop, we are learning more about the early…

Public stigma towards mental illness in the Greek culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzouvara, V; Papadopoulos, C

2014-12-01

Mental illness stigma negatively affects the lives of individuals with mental health disorders. Studies have indicated that the type and degree of stigma significantly varies across cultures. This study aimed to add to this body of knowledge by examining the prevalence and the type of mental illness stigma among individuals who identified themselves as Greek. It also examined the influence of a range of potential within-culture stigma moderating factors, including levels of previous experience with mental illness and mental illness knowledge. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed, and 111 participants living in England and Greece were sampled through the snowball sampling technique. Stigma prevalence was measured using the 'Community Attitudes to Mental Illness' questionnaire. The findings revealed that participants showed a high degree of sympathy for people with mental illness but also considered them to be inferior and of a lower social class, and needing strict societal control. Higher stigma was significantly associated with being educated in England (instead of Greece), higher religiosity, lower knowledge levels and lower levels personal experience of mental illness. Targeted antistigma campaigns specifically tailored for the Greek culture are required in order to help reduce stigmatizing attitudes. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Stigma of Mental Illness and Recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Avdibegović, Esmina; Hasanović, Mevludin

2017-12-01

Stigma and recovery "from" and "in" mental illness are associated in many various ways. While recovery gives opportunities, makes person stronger, gives purpose and meaning to their lives and leads to social inclusion, in the same time stigma reduces opportunities, reduces self-esteem and self-efficacy, reduces the belief in own abilities and contributes to social exclusion through discrimination. The recovery of a person with mental illness means to get and keep hope, to understand their own possibilities and impossibilities, active living, to be autonomous, to have a social identity and to give meaning and purpose of our own lives. The care system, recovery-oriented, provides help and support to people with mental disorders in his/her recovery, which contributes to reduction of self-stigma, to the elimination of stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs in mental health services which consequently may have a positive reflection in reducing the stigma of mental illness in the community. It is important to look at the stigma and recovery from the perspective of individual experience of each person with a mental illness in the process of recovery. A support to the recovery concept and the development of a recovery-oriented system of care should be one of the key segments of any strategy to combat the stigma of mental illness. Also, the cultural and the social stigma aspects of stigma would be taken into account in the developing of the recovery concept and on the recovery-oriented care system.

What can we learn? Adult outcomes in children of seriously mentally ill mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connell, Kathleen LeClear

2008-05-01

Information is lacking about the experiences, needs of, and interventions for children of seriously mentally ill mothers. Quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry were used to retrospectively explore the characteristics and needs of adult children of seriously mentally ill mothers. The sample (N = 40) was recruited by referral and media advertisements. Childhood variables related to attachment, family environment, and parenting were compared to adult well-being outcomes of depression, quality of life, sense of coherence, and self-esteem. Participants also responded to the question "What other question should have been included in this study about your experience as the child of a seriously mentally ill mother?" and, additionally, spontaneously added their own clarifications of their answers to the survey questions. It was apparent that the childhoods of participants were disruptive and often painful. Over half of the sample reported having their own diagnosis of depression in adulthood. Despite these factors, most members of the study sample were functioning well in adulthood, most often as a result of their own initiative. A high rate of depression in adulthood and participants' own descriptions of their painful memories and experiences of childhood identifies that more can and should be done to assist children of mentally ill mothers to cope with their environments. Interventions at various times in childhood are described.

Biogenetic models of psychopathology, implicit guilt, and mental illness stigma

OpenAIRE

Rüsch, Nicolas; Todd, Andrew R.; Bodenhausen, Galen V.; Corrigan, Patrick W.

2010-01-01

Whereas some research suggests that acknowledgment of the role of biogenetic factors in mental illness could reduce mental illness stigma by diminishing perceived responsibility, other research has cautioned that emphasizing biogenetic aspects of mental illness could produce the impression that mental illness is a stable, intrinsic aspect of a person (“genetic essentialism”), increasing the desire for social distance. We assessed genetic and neurobiological causal attributions about mental il...

Mental illness disclosure in Chinese immigrant communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fang-Pei; Lai, Grace Ying-Chi; Yang, Lawrence

2013-07-01

Support from social networks is imperative to mental health recovery of persons with mental illness. However, disclosing mental illness may damage a person's participation in networks due to mental illness stigma, especially in Chinese immigrant communities where social networks (the guanxi network) have specific social-cultural significance. This study focused on mental illness disclosure in Chinese immigrant communities in New York City. Fifty-three Chinese psychiatric patients were recruited consecutively from 2 Chinese bilingual psychiatric inpatient units from 2006 to 2010. Two bilingual psychologists interviewed each participant once in a semistructured interview, including 6 questions on mental illness disclosure. Conventional content analysis was applied to conceptualize the phenomenon. Results showed that participants voluntarily disclosed to a circle of people composed primarily of family and relatives. The decisions and strategies to disclose depended on participants' consideration of 3 critical elements of social relationships. Ganqing, affection associated with relationship building, ultimately determined who had the privilege to know. Renqing, the moral code of reciprocal kindness, further influenced disclosure decisions and what participants anticipated as responses to disclosure. Lastly, concerns over preserving face (lian), a construct representing personal and familial dignity, oftentimes prohibited disclosure. Additionally, in this tight-knit network, involuntary disclosure could happen without participants' permission or knowledge. Participants commonly suffered from stigma after disclosure. However, half of our participants reported situations in which they experienced little discriminatory treatment, and some experienced support and care as a result of cultural dynamics. Recommendations for culturally sensitive practice to facilitate mental illness disclosure among Chinese immigrants were discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all

Perception of stigma toward mental illness in South India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhumika T Venkatesh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Stigma associated with mental illnesses is one of the principal causes for mentally ill people not receiving adequate mental health care and treatment. The study was conducted to assess the extent of stigma associated with mental illness and knowledge of mental illness among the community. Materials and Methods: Community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 445 respondents from Udupi district; the community attitude toward the mentally ill (CAMI scale was used to assess stigma. The probability proportional to sampling size technique was adopted to select the wards/blocks. Household from blocks/wards were selected using convenience sampling. Self- administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information. Data was analyzed using the software SPSS version 15. Results: Of the total 445 respondents, the prevalence of stigma toward mentally ill people was 74.61% (95% confidence interval, 0.7057, 0.7866. The prevalence of stigma was high under all the four domains of CAMI scale. High prevalence of stigma was seen among females and people with higher income. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of stigma toward PWMI was found to be high. The stigma toward PWMI was associated with gender with respect to AU, BE and CMHI. Hence, the study suggests that there is a strong need to eliminate stigma associated with mental illness to improve the mental health status of the region.

Graphic Depictions: Portrayals of Mental Illness in Video Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Shapiro, Samuel; Rotter, Merrill

2016-11-01

Although studies have examined portrayals of mental illness in the mass media, little attention has been paid to such portrayals in video games. In this descriptive study, the fifty highest-selling video games in each year from 2011 to 2013 were surveyed through application of search terms to the Wikia search engine, with subsequent review of relevant footage on YouTube. Depiction categories were then assigned based on the extent of portrayal and qualitative characteristics compared against mental illness stereotypes in cinema. Twenty-three of the 96 surveyed games depicted at least one character with mental illness. Forty-two characters were identified as portraying mental illness, with most characters classified under a "homicidal maniac" stereotype, although many characters did not clearly reflect cinema stereotypes and were subcategorized based on the shared traits. Video games contain frequent and varied portrayals of mental illness, with depictions most commonly linking mental illness to dangerous and violent behaviors. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Attitude toward mental illness amongst urban nonpsychiatric health professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V Pande

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: This study was designed to examine the attitude of nonpsychiatric health professionals about mental illness in urban multispeciality tertiary care setting. Aim: To assess attitude toward mental illness among urban nonpsychiatric health professionals. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. A pretested, semistructured questionnaire was administered to 222 medical and paramedical staff at two tertiary care hospitals at Chandigarh. Results: There is an increased awareness of mental illness especially in military subjects. Literacy was associated with a positive attitude toward mental illness. Health care givers commonly fail to ask about the emotional well being of their patients. Many saw referral to psychiatrist as a form of punishment. There is uniform desire for more knowledge about psychiatric disorders in medical and paramedical staff. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the need for educational programs aimed at demystifying mental illness. A better understanding of mental disorders among the nonpsychiatric medical professional would help to allay fear and mistrust about mentally ill persons in the community as well as lessen stigmatization toward such persons.

Role of maternal childhood trauma on parenting among depressed mothers of psychiatrically ill children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zalewski, Maureen; Cyranowski, Jill M; Cheng, Yu; Swartz, Holly A

2013-09-01

Independently, maternal depression and maternal history of childhood abuse confer risk for impaired parenting. These associations may be compounded when depressed mothers with histories of childhood abuse are faced with the challenge of parenting offspring who themselves struggle with mental health problems. This study examined the relationships among maternal history of childhood abuse, maternal depression, and parenting style in the context of parenting a psychiatrically ill child, with an emphasis on examining maternal emotional abuse and neglect. We hypothesized that maternal childhood emotional abuse would be associated with maladaptive parenting strategies (lower levels of maternal acceptance and higher levels of psychological control), independent of maternal depression severity and other psychosocial risk factors. Ninety-five mother-child dyads (children ages 7-18) were recruited from child mental health centers where children were receiving treatment for at least one internalizing disorder. Participating mothers met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder. Mothers reported on their own childhood abuse histories and children reported on their mothers' parenting. Regression analyses demonstrated that maternal childhood emotional abuse was associated with child reports of lower maternal acceptance and greater psychological control, controlling for maternal depression severity, and other psychosocial risk factors. When treating psychiatrically ill children, it is important for a child's clinician to consider mothers' childhood abuse histories in addition to their history of depression. These mothers appear to have additional barriers to effective parenting. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Association between public views of mental illness and self-stigma among individuals with mental illness in 14 European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans-Lacko, S; Brohan, E; Mojtabai, R; Thornicroft, G

2012-08-01

Little is known about how the views of the public are related to self-stigma among people with mental health problems. Despite increasing activity aimed at reducing mental illness stigma, there is little evidence to guide and inform specific anti-stigma campaign development and messages to be used in mass campaigns. A better understanding of the association between public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours and the internalization of stigma among people with mental health problems is needed. This study links two large, international datasets to explore the association between public stigma in 14 European countries (Eurobarometer survey) and individual reports of self-stigma, perceived discrimination and empowerment among persons with mental illness (n=1835) residing in those countries [the Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks (GAMIAN) study]. Individuals with mental illness living in countries with less stigmatizing attitudes, higher rates of help-seeking and treatment utilization and better perceived access to information had lower rates of self-stigma and perceived discrimination and those living in countries where the public felt more comfortable talking to people with mental illness had less self-stigma and felt more empowered. Targeting the general public through mass anti-stigma interventions may lead to a virtuous cycle by disrupting the negative feedback engendered by public stigma, thereby reducing self-stigma among people with mental health problems. A combined approach involving knowledge, attitudes and behaviour is needed; mass interventions that facilitate disclosure and positive social contact may be the most effective. Improving availability of information about mental health issues and facilitating access to care and help-seeking also show promise with regard to stigma.

Stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness among primary school children in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndetei, David M; Mutiso, Victoria; Maraj, Anika; Anderson, Kelly K; Musyimi, Christine; McKenzie, Kwame

2016-01-01

Literature describing stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness by children in the developing world is lacking. Children's mental health issues in the Kenyan context are especially pertinent due to the increased likelihood of exposure to risk factors and the high prevalence of mental disorders. The objective of the current study was to examine socio-demographic factors associated with the endorsement of stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness among Kenyan school children. We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 4585 primary school-aged children in standards one through seven in the Eastern Province of Kenya. We examined relationships between the endorsement of stigmatizing attitudes and age, gender, district, religion, being in the standard appropriate for one's age, and parental employment status. Stigma scores decreased with increasing age (β = -0.83; 95 % CI = -0.99 to -0.67). Boys had higher stigma scores compared to girls (β = 1.55; 95 % CI = 0.86-2.24). Students from the rural district had higher average stigma scores as compared to those from the peri-urban district (β = 1.14; 95 % CI = 0.44-1.84). Students who were not in the standard appropriate for their age had lower stigma scores than those who were in the standard typical for their age (β = -1.60; 95 % CI = -2.43 to -0.77). Stigmatizing attitudes toward the mentally ill exist among primary school children in Kenya; thus, anti-stigma interventions are needed, and our findings highlight particular subgroups that could be targeted.

Effect of a mental health training programme on Nigerian school pupils? perceptions of mental illness

OpenAIRE

Oduguwa, Adeola Oluwafunmilayo; Adedokun, Babatunde; Omigbodun, Olayinka Olusola

2017-01-01

Background Stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory behaviour towards persons with mental illness are known to start in childhood. In Nigeria, it is not unusual to see children taunting persons with mental illness. This behaviour continues into adulthood as evidenced by the day-to-day occurrences in the community of negative attitudes and social distance from persons with mental illness. School-based interventions for pupils have been found to increase knowledge about mental illness. Childre...

Exercise Prevents Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Purnomo, K. I.; Doewes, M.; Giri, M. K. W.; Setiawan, K. H.; Wibowo, I. P. A.

2017-03-01

Multiple current studies show that neuroinflammation may contribute to mental illness such as depression, anxiety, and mood disorder. Chronic inflammation in peripheral tissues is indicated by the increase of inflammatory marker like cytokine IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Pro-inflammatory cytokine in peripheral tissues can reach brain tissues and activate microglia and it causes neuroinflammation. Psychological stress may led peripheral and central inflammation. Activated microglia will produce pro-inflammatory cytokine, ROS, RNS, and tryptophan catabolizes. This neuroinflammation can promote metabolism changes of any neurotransmitter, such as serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate that will influence neurocircuit in the brain including basal ganglia and anterior cingulated cortex. It leads to mental illness. Exercise give contribution to reduce tissue inflammation. When muscle is contracting in an exercise, muscle will produce the secretion of cytokine like IL-6, IL-1ra, and IL-10. It will react as anti-inflammation and influence macrophage, T cell, monosit, protein Toll-Like Receptor (TLR), and then reduce neuroinflammation, characterised by the decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokine and prevent the activation of microglia in the brain. The objective of the present study is to review scientific articles in the literature related to the contribution of exercise to prevent and ease mental illness.

Attitudes toward Mental Illness: The Construction of the Libertarian Mental Health Ideology Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Nevid, Jeffrey S.; Morrison, James

1980-01-01

The study was an attempt to construct an attitude scale to measure the radical psychosocial or libertarian position about "mental illness" and mental health practices. The factor analysis defined four scale factors: mental illness mythology, antimedical model, social deviance control, and anti-coercive treatment. (Author)

Illness in Children and Parental Response

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.A. Bruijnzeels (Marc)

1997-01-01

textabstractMost children suffer from illnesses from time to time. In only a small part of these ill children parents decide to seek professional help. So, most child health care is carried out by parents. In general, this phenomenon is called the iceberg of symptoms. The part of the iceberg under

Good-parent beliefs of parents of seriously ill children.

Science.gov (United States)

Feudtner, Chris; Walter, Jennifer K; Faerber, Jennifer A; Hill, Douglas L; Carroll, Karen W; Mollen, Cynthia J; Miller, Victoria A; Morrison, Wynne E; Munson, David; Kang, Tammy I; Hinds, Pamela S

2015-01-01

Parents' beliefs about what they need to do to be a good parent when their children are seriously ill influence their medical decisions, and better understanding of these beliefs may improve decision support. To assess parents' perceptions regarding the relative importance of 12 good-parent attributes. A cross-sectional, discrete-choice experiment was conducted at a children's hospital. Participants included 200 parents of children with serious illness. Ratings of 12 good-parent attributes, with subsequent use of latent class analysis to identify groups of parents with similar ratings of attributes, and ascertainment of whether membership in a particular group was associated with demographic or clinical characteristics. The highest-ranked good-parent attribute was making sure that my child feels loved, followed by focusing on my child's health, making informed medical care decisions, and advocating for my child with medical staff. We identified 4 groups of parents with similar patterns of good-parent-attribute ratings, which we labeled as: child feels loved (n=68), child's health (n=56), advocacy and informed (n=55), and spiritual well-being (n=21). Compared with the other groups, the child's health group reported more financial difficulties, was less educated, and had a higher proportion of children with new complex, chronic conditions. Parents endorse a broad range of beliefs that represent what they perceive they should do to be a good parent for their seriously ill child. Common patterns of how parents prioritize these attributes exist, suggesting future research to better understand the origins and development of good-parent beliefs among these parents. More important, engaging parents individually regarding what they perceive to be the core duties they must fulfill to be a good parent may enable more customized and effective decision support.

Caregiver coping with the mentally ill: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Azman, Azlinda; Jamir Singh, Paramjit Singh; Sulaiman, Jamalludin

2017-04-01

Mental illness is a disease that affects millions of people every year. It not only causes stress to the mentally ill patients, but also for the family members who provide them the care. The family caregivers, therefore need some form of coping strategies in dealing with their mentally ill family members. This qualitative study aims at identifying and analysing the coping strategies adopted by the family caregivers in dealing with their mentally ill family members. A total of 15 family caregivers from the state of Kedah, Malaysia participated in the face-to-face semi structured interview. The study findings identified an array of coping strategies used by the family caregivers, including religious coping, emotional coping, acceptance, becoming engaged in leisure activities, and the use of traditional healing to help them cope with their mentally ill members. Suggestions and conclusions: Study suggests that the family caregivers should engage themselves in social support groups to learn about and obtain the positive coping strategies used by other caregivers who have similar experiences in caring for the mentally ill. Study also suggests that they should get appropriate training from the mental health professionals in order to enhance the caregivers' coping skills.

Attitudes toward people with mental illness among medical students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijayalakshmi Poreddi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Globally, people with mental illness frequently encounter stigma, prejudice, and discrimination by public and health care professionals. Research related to medical students′ attitudes toward people with mental illness is limited from India. Aim: The aim was to assess and compare the attitudes toward people with mental illness among medical students′. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was carried out among medical students, who were exposed (n = 115 and not exposed (n = 61 to psychiatry training using self-reporting questionnaire. Results: Our findings showed improvement in students′ attitudes after exposure to psychiatry in benevolent (t = 2.510, P < 0.013 and stigmatization (t = 2.656, P < 0.009 domains. Further, gender, residence, and contact with mental illness were the factors that found to be influencing students′ attitudes toward mental illness. Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that psychiatric education proved to be effective in changing the attitudes of medical students toward mental illness to a certain extent. However, there is an urgent need to review the current curriculum to prepare undergraduate medical students to provide holistic care to the people with mental health problems.

Mental illness from the perspective of theoretical neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Thagard, Paul

2008-01-01

Theoretical neuroscience, which characterizes neural mechanisms using mathematical and computational models, is highly relevant to central problems in the philosophy of psychiatry. These models can help to solve the explanation problem of causally connecting neural processes with the behaviors and experiences found in mental illnesses. Such explanations will also be useful for generating better classifications and treatments of psychiatric disorders. The result should help to eliminate concerns that mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia are not objectively real. A philosophical approach to mental illness based on neuroscience need not neglect the inherently social and historical nature of mental phenomena.

The relationship between physical ill-health and mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, A; Kinnear, D; Allan, L; Smiley, E; Cooper, S-A

2018-05-01

People with intellectual disabilities face a much greater burden and earlier onset of physical and mental ill-health than the general adult population. Physical-mental comorbidity has been shown to result in poorer outcomes in the general population, but little is known about this relationship in adults with intellectual disabilities. To identify whether physical ill-health is associated with mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities and whether the extent of physical multi-morbidity can predict the likelihood of mental ill-health. To identify any associations between types of physical ill-health and mental ill-health. A total of 1023 adults with intellectual disabilities underwent comprehensive health assessments. Binary logistic regressions were undertaken to establish any association between the independent variables: total number of physical health conditions, physical conditions by International Classification of Disease-10 chapter and specific physical health conditions; and the dependent variables: problem behaviours, mental disorders of any type. All regressions were adjusted for age, gender, level of intellectual disabilities, living arrangements, neighbourhood deprivation and Down syndrome. The extent of physical multi-morbidity was not associated with mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities as only 0.8% of the sample had no physical conditions. Endocrine disease increased the risk of problem behaviours [odds ratio (OR): 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.47], respiratory disease reduced the risk of problem behaviours (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.54-0.99) and mental ill-health of any type (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.92), and musculoskeletal disease reduced the risk of mental ill-health of any type (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.73-0.98). Ischaemic heart disease increased the risk of problem behaviours approximately threefold (OR: 3.29, 95% CI: 1.02-10.60). The extent of physical multi-morbidity in the population with intellectual

Addressing Mental Illness Stigma in the Psychology Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Maranzan, K. Amanda

2016-01-01

A number of initiatives are aimed at reducing mental illness stigma, yet stigma remains a problem in the general population. A focus on stigma reduction with students is particularly relevant, as students often hold negative attitudes toward mental illness, have regular contact with persons experiencing mental health difficulties, and because…

[Health Care Situation and Barriers for Working with Children of Mentally Ill Parents from the Perspective of Adult Psychiatry in Germany - A Nationwide Survey].

Science.gov (United States)

Wlodarczyk, Olga; Metzner, Franka; Pawils, Silke

2017-10-01

Objective The aim of the present study was to assess the health care situation and barriers to support minor children of mentally ill parents from the perspective of adult psychiatry in Germany. Methods Based on the German Hospital Register mental health practitioners of all psychiatric clinics in Germany were asked to answer a 37-item questionnaire. Overall, 441 practitioners of 239 psychiatric clinics participated in the cross sectional study. Results Most important barriers were high workload, scarce resources, patient-focused treatment, missing expertise as well as insufficient awareness. Conclusions More resources, training, clear declaration of competence and coordination of services are necessary to implement family sensitive services in psychiatric clinics. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Health professionals’ familiarity and attributions to mental illness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aghukwa Nkereuwem Chikaodiri

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A few months from the time of this survey, the nearly completed inpatient psychiatric facility within the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital’s complex would be ready for admissions. Understanding the health workers’ level of experience of mental illness and their likely behavioural responses towards people with psychiatric illness, therefore, should be a good baseline to understanding their likely reactions towards admitting such patients within a general hospital setting. The study, which used a pre-tested and adapted attribution questionnaire, was pro­spective and cross-sectional. Randomly selected health workers in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital had their level of familiarity and attributions towards psychiatric patients assessed. The respondents showed a high level of experience with mental illness, with more than 3 in 5 of them having watched movies on mental illness before. More than half of them held positive (favorable attributions towards persons with mental illness on nine of the ten assessed attribution factors. Almost all held negative (unfavourable opinion towards intimate relationships with such persons. Attribution factors, “Responsibility, “Anger”, “Dangerousness”, “Fear” and “Segregation” were significantly related to the respondents’ level of education (P less than 0.05. Marital status of the respondents related significantly to “Pity” and “Avoidance” factors (P less than 0.05. Having watched movies on mental illness significantly related to “Responsibility” and “Fear” factors (P less than 0.05. Programs designed to improve the health workers mental health literacy, and increased positive professional contacts with mentally ill persons on treatment, would further enhance their perceived positive attributions towards them.

Social Work Faculty and Mental Illness Stigma

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Amy C.; Fulambarker, Anjali; Kondrat, David C.; Holley, Lynn C.; Kranke, Derrick; Wilkins, Brittany T.; Stromwall, Layne K.; Eack, Shaun M.

2017-01-01

Stigma is a significant barrier to recovery and full community inclusion for people with mental illnesses. Social work educators can play critical roles in addressing this stigma, yet little is known about their attitudes. Social work educators were surveyed about their general attitudes about people with mental illnesses, attitudes about practice…

Physical Health Risk Behaviours in Young People with Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

McCloughen, Andrea; Foster, Kim; Marabong, Nikka; Miu, David; Fethney, Judith

2015-01-01

Comorbid physical health conditions, commonly associated with mental illness, contribute to increased morbidity and reduced life expectancy. The trajectory to poorer health begins with the onset of mental illness. For young people with mental illness, health risk behaviours and poor physical health can progress to adulthood with long-term detrimental impacts. Using a cross-sectional survey design, self-reported health risk behaviours were gathered from 56 young (16-25 years) Australians who had been hospitalised for mental illness and taking psychotropic medication. Smoking, alcohol use, minimal physical activity, and lack of primary health care were evident. While these behaviours are typical of many young people, those with mental illness have substantially increased vulnerability to poor health and reduced life expectancy. Priority needs to be given to targeted health promotion strategies for young people with mental illness to modify their risky long-term health behaviours and improve morbidity and mortality outcomes. Nurses in mental health settings play a vital role in promoting young peoples' well-being and preventing poorer physical health outcomes. Implementation of a cardiometabolic health nurse role in inpatient settings for young people with mental illness could facilitate prevention and early intervention for health risk behaviours.

Mental illness stigma: concepts, consequences, and initiatives to reduce stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüsch, Nicolas; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Corrigan, Patrick W

2005-12-01

Persons with mental illness frequently encounter public stigma and may suffer from self-stigma. This review aims to clarify the concept of mental illness stigma and discuss consequences for individuals with mental illness. After a conceptual overview of stigma we discuss two leading concepts of mental illness stigma and consequences of stigma, focussing on self-stigma/empowerment and fear of stigma as a barrier to using health services. Finally, we discuss three main strategies to reduce stigma -- protest, education, and contact -- and give examples of current anti-stigma campaigns. Well-designed anti-stigma initiatives will help to diminish negative consequences of mental illness stigma.

A false dichotomy? Mental illness and lone-actor terrorism.

Science.gov (United States)

Corner, Emily; Gill, Paul

2015-02-01

We test whether significant differences in mental illness exist in a matched sample of lone- and group-based terrorists. We then test whether there are distinct behavioral differences between lone-actor terrorists with and without mental illness. We then stratify our sample across a range of diagnoses and again test whether significant differences exist. We conduct a series of bivariate, multivariate, and multinomial statistical tests using a unique dataset of 119 lone-actor terrorists and a matched sample of group-based terrorists. The odds of a lone-actor terrorist having a mental illness is 13.49 times higher than the odds of a group actor having a mental illness. Lone actors who were mentally ill were 18.07 times more likely to have a spouse or partner who was involved in a wider movement than those without a history of mental illness. Those with a mental illness were more likely to have a proximate upcoming life change, more likely to have been a recent victim of prejudice, and experienced proximate and chronic stress. The results identify behaviors and traits that security agencies can utilize to monitor and prevent lone-actor terrorism events. The correlated behaviors provide an image of how risk can crystalize within the individual offender and that our understanding of lone-actor terrorism should be multivariate in nature.

Perceptions of mental illness among Muslim general practitioners in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed-Kaloo, Zaakiyah; Laher, Sumaya

2014-03-26

Mental health literacy on the part of medical practitioners is an important component of mental healthcare. General practitioners (GPs) are typically the first doctors consulted by a person who is ill. Exploration of their perceptions regarding mental illness, aetiological issues and treatment is important. To investigate perceptions of mental illness in a sample of ten South African Muslim GPs (five male, five female) in the Lenasia area (Johannesburg, South Africa). Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each GP. The questionnaire encompassed 37 questions relating to the context in which the GPs practised, perceptions of mental illness, understanding of religion and culture, and treatment of mental illness (including aspects of spiritual illness). Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. Six dominant themes were identified, namely GPs' understanding of mental illness and its causation; stigma, secrecy and somatisation; the beneficial effects of religion in mental illnesses; perceptions of spiritual illnesses; collaboration with traditional healers; and collaboration with psychiatrists and psychologists. Greater awareness regarding the stigmatisation of mental illness is needed. Furthermore, it is important that healthcare professionals have an understanding of religious and cultural taxonomies of illness as well as the use of traditional healing as a mode of treatment. Participants identified a need for increased collaboration between healthcare professionals, including traditional healers.

Cultural misconceptions and public stigma against mental illness among Lebanese university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayan, Ahmad; Fawaz, Mirna

2018-04-01

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural misconceptions about mental illness and how they are associated with the public stigma against mental illness among Lebanese university students. A sample of 203 participants completed the study. Data about cultural misconceptions, attitudes about mental illness, and public stigma of mental illness were obtained. The researchers examined the mean difference in public stigma according to cultural beliefs about mental illness. The majority of students believe that mental health professionals have inadequate knowledge and expertise to treat mental disorders. Various cultural misconceptions about mental illness were reported. Public stigma significantly differed based on these cultural misconceptions. Psychiatric nurses should play a vital role in reshaping the inappropriate cultural view about mental illness. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Shared decision making among parents of children with mental health conditions compared to children with chronic physical conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Ashley M; Elkins, Sara; Kowalkowski, Marc; Raphael, Jean L

2015-02-01

High quality care in pediatrics involves shared decision making (SDM) between families and providers. The extent to which children with common mental health disorders experience SDM is not well known. The objectives of this study were to examine how parent-reported SDM varies by child health (physical illness, mental health condition, and comorbid mental and physical conditions) and to examine whether medical home care attenuates any differences. We analyzed data on children (2-17 years) collected through the 2009/2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. The sample consisted of parents of children in one of three child health categories: (1) children with a chronic physical illness but no mental health condition; (2) children with a common mental health condition but no chronic physical condition; and (3) children with comorbid mental and chronic physical conditions. The primary dependent variable was parent-report of provider SDM. The primary independent variable was health condition category. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted. Multivariate analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables and parent-reported health condition impact indicated lower SDM among children with a common mental health condition-only (B = -0.40; p mental health condition-only were no longer significant in the model adjusting for medical home care. However, differences in SDM for children with comorbid conditions persisted after adjusting for medical home care. Increasing medical home care may help mitigate differences in SDM for children with mental health conditions-only. Other interventions may be needed to improve SDM among children with comorbid mental and physical conditions.

Comorbidity between pain and mental illness - Evidence of a bidirectional relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Bondesson, E; Larrosa Pardo, F; Stigmar, K; Ringqvist, Å; Petersson, I F; Jöud, A; Schelin, M E C

2018-03-25

Pain from various locations in the body and mental illness are common and the comorbidity between the two is well-known although the temporal relationship remains to be determined. Our aim was to follow patients over time to study if pain (here dorsalgia/abdominal pain) or fibromyalgia lead to an increased risk of developing mental illness (here depression/anxiety) and/or the reverse, that is whether patients with mental illness have an increased risk to develop pain or fibromyalgia, compared to the rest of the population. This prospective cohort study used the Skåne Healthcare Register, covering all care in the region of Skåne, southern Sweden (population ~1.3 million). The cohort included healthcare consultations in primary care, outpatient specialized care and inpatient care between 2007 and 2016 for all patients without prior registered diagnosis of mental illness or pain, aged 18 or older (n = 504,365). The incidence rate ratio (IRR) for developing mental illness after pain was 2.18 (95% CI = 2.14-2.22) compared to without pain. IRR for developing pain after mental illness was 2.02 (95% CI = 1.98-2.06) compared to without mental illness. Corresponding IRR for developing mental illness after fibromyalgia was 4.05 (95% CI = 3.58-4.59) and for developing fibromyalgia after mental illness 5.54 (95% CI = 4.99-6.16). This study shows a bidirectional influence of similar magnitude of pain and mental illness, respectively. In monitoring patients with pain or mental illness, a focus on both conditions is thus important to develop appropriate, targeted interventions and may increase the likelihood of improved outcomes. We followed a population-based cohort over a period of 10 years, including incident cases of both exposure and outcome and found a bidirectional relationship between pain and mental illness. Clinicians need to pay attention on both conditions, in patients seeking care due to mental illness or pain. © 2018 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Effectiveness of preventive support groups for children of mentally ill or addicted parents: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

van Santvoort, Floor; Hosman, Clemens M H; van Doesum, Karin T M; Janssens, Jan M A M

2014-06-01

In various countries preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill and/or addicted parents to reduce the risk that they will develop problems themselves. This study assessed the effectiveness of Dutch support groups for children aged 8-12 years old in terms of reducing negative cognitions; improving social support, competence, and parent-child interaction (direct intervention goals); and reducing emotional and behavioural problems (ultimate intervention aim). Children from 254 families were randomly assigned to the intervention or a control condition. Parents and children completed questionnaires at baseline and 3 and 6 months later. Emotional and behavioural problems of intervention group children were also assessed 1 year after the start. Univariate analyses of variance showed that children in the intervention group experienced a greater decrease in negative cognitions and sought more social support, immediately after participation and 3 months later, as compared to control group children. They also remained stable in their feelings of social acceptance (competence aspect) immediately after the intervention, whereas these feelings declined in control group children. The intervention and control groups both improved over time in terms of cognitions, competence, parent-child interaction and emotional and behavioural problem scores. Additional improvement in terms of problem scores was found in the intervention group 1 year after baseline. Further enhancement of effectiveness requires re-consideration of the support group goals; it should be studied whether the goals reflect the most important and influential risk and protective factors for this specific population. Besides, effects should be studied over a longer period.

The Impact of Mental Health Reform on Mental Illness Stigmas in Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Natan, Merav; Drori, Tal; Hochman, Ohad

2017-12-01

This study examined public perception of stigmas relating to mental illness six months after a reform, which integrated mental health care into primary care in Israel. The results reveal that the public feels uncomfortable seeking referral to mental health services through the public health system, with Arab Israelis and men expressing lower levels of comfort than did Jewish Israelis. The current reform has not solved the issue of public stigma regarding mental health care. The study suggests that the current reforms must be accompanied over time with appropriate public education regarding mental illness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stigma towards people with mental illness in developing countries in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauber, Christoph; Rössler, Wulf

2007-04-01

There is a wide range of literature on stigmatization and discrimination of people with mental illness. Most studies, however, derive from Western countries. This review aims at summarizing results from developing countries in Asia published between 1996-2006. Medline search focusing on English-speaking literature. Comparable to Western countries, there is a widespread tendency to stigmatize and discriminate people with mental illness in Asia. People with mental illness are considered as dangerous and aggressive which in turn increases the social distance. The role of supernatural, religious and magical approaches to mental illness is prevailing. The pathway to care is often shaped by scepticism towards mental health services and the treatments offered. Stigma experienced from family members is pervasive. Moreover, social disapproval and devaluation of families with mentally ill individuals are an important concern. This holds true particularly with regards to marriage, marital separation and divorce. Psychic symptoms, unlike somatic symptoms, are construed as socially disadvantageous. Thus, somatisation of psychiatric disorders is widespread in Asia. The most urgent problem of mental health care in Asia is the lack of personal and financial resources. Thus, mental health professionals are mostly located in urban areas. This increases the barriers to seek help and contributes to the stigmatization of the mentally ill. The attitude of mental health professionals towards people with mental illness is often stigmatizing. This review revealed that the stigmatization of people with mental illness is widespread in Asia. The features of stigmatization-beliefs about causes of and attitudes towards mental illness, consequences for help-seeking-have more commonalities than differences to Western countries.

Parent and child asthma illness representations: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonney, Jennifer T; Gerald, Lynn B; Insel, Kathleen C

2016-06-01

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the current literature on parent and child asthma illness representations and their consequent impact on parent-child asthma shared management. This systematic review was conducted in concordance with the PRISMA statement. An electronic search of five computerized databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, and EMBASE) was conducted using the following key words: asthma, illness representation, and child. Due to the limited number of articles identified, the search was broadened to include illness perceptions as well. Studies were included if they were specific to asthma and included parent and/or child asthma illness representations or perception, were published after 2000, and available in English. Fifteen articles were selected for inclusion. All of the articles are descriptive studies that used cross-sectional designs. Seven of the studies used parent and child participants, eight used parents only, and none used only child participants. None of the selected studies describe child asthma illness representations, and only three describe parental asthma illness representations. Domains of illness representations, including symptoms, timeline, consequences, cause, and controllability were described in the remaining articles. Symptoms and controllability appear to have the most influence on parental asthma management practices. Parents prefer symptomatic or intermittent asthma management and frequently cite concerns regarding daily controller medication use. Parents also primarily rely on their own objective symptom observations rather than the child's report of symptoms. Asthma illness representations are an important area of future study to better understand parent-child shared asthma management.

Ethnic differences in mental illness and mental health service use among Black fathers.

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Otima; Joe, Sean; Caldwell, Cleopatra H

2012-05-01

We have presented nationally representative data on the prevalence and correlates of mental illness and mental health service use among African American and Caribbean Black (US-born and foreign-born) fathers in the United States. We have reported national estimates of lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of mental illness, correlates, and service use among African American (n = 1254) and Caribbean Black (n = 633) fathers using data from the National Survey of American Life, a national household survey of Black Americans. We used bivariate cross-tabulations and Cox proportional hazards regression approaches and adjusted for the National Survey of American Life's complex sample design. The prevalence of mental illness, sociodemographic correlates, and service use among Black fathers varied by ethnicity and nativity. US-born Caribbean Black fathers had alarmingly high rates of most disorders, including depression, anxiety, and substance disorders. Mental health service use was particularly low for African American and foreign-born Caribbean Black fathers. These results demonstrate the need for more research on the causes and consequences of mental illness and the help-seeking behavior of ethnically diverse Black fathers.

Stigma associated with mental illness: perspectives of university students in Qatar.

Science.gov (United States)

Zolezzi, Monica; Bensmail, Nawal; Zahrah, Farah; Khaled, Salma Mawfek; El-Gaili, Tayseer

2017-01-01

Stigma in relation to mental illness is one of the main factors inhibiting people from seeking help. Studies have been undertaken looking into the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) about mental illness among residents in Qatar; however, none have looked specifically at students in higher education. The aim of this study was to understand the KAB toward mental illness among students at a Qatari university and determine if there are any differences based on gender, nationality, and college type. A convenience sample of students from all genders, colleges, and nationalities was approached to participate in a survey that consisted of four sections: demographic, beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences associated with mental illness. Chi-square testing was performed to test for differences in the distribution of proportions of our primary outcomes (students' beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences). A total of 282 students completed the survey. The majority of the participating students were females (59.3%), non-Qataris (64.3%), and enrolled in science-based colleges (62.7%). Beliefs reflecting poor mental health literacy, such as "medications to treat mental illness can cause addiction", "mental illness is not like any other illness", or that "mental illness is a punishment from God", were reported by a majority of students (84.4%, 56.7%, and 50.2%, respectively). Stigmatizing attitudes that were endorsed by a majority of students included believing that people with mental illness cannot have regular jobs (60.2%), that people with mental illness are dangerous (65.7%), and that they would not marry someone with a mental illness (88.9%). Additionally, 33.6% of students indicated they would be ashamed to mention if someone in their family or they themself, had a mental illness. A vast majority of students (86.3%) indicated to prefer family and friend's support as treatment options. Significant differences in KAB about

An online intervention using information on the mental health-mental illness continuum to reduce stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Schomerus, G; Angermeyer, M C; Baumeister, S E; Stolzenburg, S; Link, B G; Phelan, J C

2016-02-01

A core component of stigma is being set apart as a distinct, dichotomously different kind of person. We examine whether information on a continuum from mental health to mental illness reduces stigma. Online survey experiment in a quota sample matching the German population for age, gender and region (n=1679). Participants randomly received information on either (1) a continuum, (2) a strict dichotomy of mental health and mental illness, or (3) no information. We elicited continuity beliefs and stigma toward a person with schizophrenia or depression. The continuum intervention decreased perceived difference by 0.19 standard deviations (SD, Pmental illness can be improved by providing information on a mental health-mental illness continuum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

National Estimates of Recovery-Remission From Serious Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Salzer, Mark S; Brusilovskiy, Eugene; Townley, Greg

2018-05-01

A broad range of estimates of recovery among previously institutionalized persons has been reported, but no current, community-based national estimate of recovery from serious mental illness exists. This study reports recovery rate results, based on a remission definition, and explores related demographic factors. A national, geographically stratified, and random cross-sectional survey conducted from September 2014 to December 2015 resulted in responses from more than 41,000 individuals. Lifetime prevalence of serious mental illness was assessed by asking about receipt of a diagnosis (major depression, bipolar disorder, manic depression, and schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) and hospitalization and impairment associated with the diagnosis. Recovery was determined by asking about impairments over the past 12 months. Almost 17% reported receiving one of the diagnoses in their lifetime, 6% had a lifetime rate of a serious mental illness, and nearly 4% continued to experience interference associated with serious mental illness. One-third of those with a lifetime serious mental illness reported having been in remission for at least the past 12 months. Recovery rates were low until age 32 and then progressively increased. Lifetime estimates of diagnosed illness and current prevalence of serious mental illness are consistent with previous research. Results indicate that recovery is possible and is associated with age. Further research is needed to understand factors that promote recovery, and sustained evaluation efforts using similar parsimonious approaches may be useful in conducting timely assessments of national and local mental health policies.

Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

... is a term for when someone experiences a mental illness and a substance use disorder simultaneously. Either disorder—substance use or mental illness—can develop first. People experiencing a mental health ...

Children's conceptions of mental illness: a naïve theory approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Claudine; Buchanan-Barrow, Eithne; Barrett, Martyn

2010-09-01

This paper reports two studies that investigated children's conceptions of mental illness using a naïve theory approach, drawing upon a conceptual framework for analysing illness representations which distinguishes between the identity, causes, consequences, curability, and timeline of an illness. The studies utilized semi-structured interviewing and card selection tasks to assess 6- to 11-year-old children's conceptions of the causes and consequences (Study 1) and the curability and timeline (Study 2) of different mental and physical illnesses/ailments. The studies revealed that, at all ages, the children held coherent causal-explanatory ideas about the causes, consequences, curability, and timeline of both mental and physical illnesses/ailments. However, while younger children tended to rely on their knowledge of common physical illnesses when thinking about mental illnesses, providing contagion and contamination explanations of cause, older children demonstrated differences in their thinking about mental and physical illnesses. No substantial gender differences were found in the children's thinking. It is argued that children hold coherent conceptions of mental illness at all ages, but that mental illness only emerges as an ontologically distinct conceptual domain by the end of middle childhood.

Design of an internet-based health economic evaluation of a preventive group-intervention for children of parents with mental illness or substance use disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolderink, Marla; Smit, Filip; van der Zanden, Rianne; Beecham, Jennifer; Knapp, Martin; Paulus, Aggie; Evers, Silvia

2010-08-10

Preventive interventions are developed for children of parents with mental and substance use disorders (COPMI), because these children have a higher risk of developing a psychological or behavioral disorder in the future. Mental health and substance use disorders contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Although the exact number of parents with a mental illness is unclear, the subject of mentally ill parents is gaining attention. Moreover there is a lack of interventions for COPMI-children, as well of (cost-) effectiveness studies evaluating COPMI interventions. Innovative interventions such as e-health provide a new field for exploration. There is no knowledge about the opportunities for using the internet to prevent problems in children at risk. In the current study we will focus on the (cost-) effectiveness of an online health prevention program for COPMI-children. We designed a randomized controlled trial to examine the (cost-) effectiveness of the Kopstoring intervention. Kopstoring is an online intervention for COPMI-children to strengthen their coping skills and prevent behavioral and psychological problems. We will compare the Kopstoring intervention with (waiting list) care as usual. This trial will be conducted entirely over the internet. An economic evaluation, from a societal perspective will be conducted, to examine the trial's cost-effectiveness. Power calculations show that 214 participants are needed, aged 16-25. Possible participants will be recruited via media announcements and banners on the internet. After screening and completing informed consent procedures, participants will be randomized. The main outcome is internalizing and externalizing symptoms as measured by the Youth Self Report. For the economic evaluation, healthcare costs and costs outside the healthcare sector will be measured at the same time as the clinical measures, at baseline, 3, 6 and 9 months. An extended measure for the intervention group will be provided at

Design of an internet-based health economic evaluation of a preventive group-intervention for children of parents with mental illness or substance use disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woolderink Marla

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Preventive interventions are developed for children of parents with mental and substance use disorders (COPMI, because these children have a higher risk of developing a psychological or behavioral disorder in the future. Mental health and substance use disorders contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Although the exact number of parents with a mental illness is unclear, the subject of mentally ill parents is gaining attention. Moreover there is a lack of interventions for COPMI-children, as well of (cost- effectiveness studies evaluating COPMI interventions. Innovative interventions such as e-health provide a new field for exploration. There is no knowledge about the opportunities for using the internet to prevent problems in children at risk. In the current study we will focus on the (cost- effectiveness of an online health prevention program for COPMI-children. Methods/Design We designed a randomized controlled trial to examine the (cost- effectiveness of the Kopstoring intervention. Kopstoring is an online intervention for COPMI-children to strengthen their coping skills and prevent behavioral and psychological problems. We will compare the Kopstoring intervention with (waiting list care as usual. This trial will be conducted entirely over the internet. An economic evaluation, from a societal perspective will be conducted, to examine the trial's cost-effectiveness. Power calculations show that 214 participants are needed, aged 16-25. Possible participants will be recruited via media announcements and banners on the internet. After screening and completing informed consent procedures, participants will be randomized. The main outcome is internalizing and externalizing symptoms as measured by the Youth Self Report. For the economic evaluation, healthcare costs and costs outside the healthcare sector will be measured at the same time as the clinical measures, at baseline, 3, 6 and 9 months. An extended

Common sense model of mental illness: Understanding the impact of cognitive and emotional representations of mental illness on recovery through the mediation of self-stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Randolph C H; Mak, Winnie W S

2016-12-30

The present study applied the common sense model to understand the underlying mechanism of how cognitive and emotional representations of mental illness among people in recovery of mental illness would impact their endorsement of self-stigma, and how that would, in turn, affect clinical and personal recovery. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 376 people in recovery. Participants were recruited from seven public specialty outpatient clinics and substance abuse assessment clinics across various districts in Hong Kong. They were asked to report their perception towards their mental illness, self-stigma, symptom severity, and personal recovery. The results of structural equation modeling partially supported the hypothesized mediation model indicating that controllability, consequences, and emotional concern of mental illness, but not cause, timeline, and identity, were associated with self-stigma, which was subsequently negatively associated with clinical and personal recovery. The present study demonstrated the mediating role of self-stigma in the relationship between individuals' illness representations towards their mental illness and their recovery. Illness management programs aimed at addressing the maladaptive mental illness-related beliefs and emotions are recommended. Implications on developing self-directed and empowering mental health services are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Australian Rotary Health: a major contributor to mental illness research and mental health awareness in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jorm, Anthony; Sawyer, Michael; Gillett, Joy

2012-08-01

Australian Rotary Health (ARH) was established in 1981 with the goal of supporting family health research in Australia. Since 2000, ARH has supported research relevant to mental health and mental illness. This article describes the early history of the fund, the reasons for the move to mental illness research, some examples of research projects that have had a beneficial impact and the branching out into mental health community awareness raising and stigma reduction. ARH has emerged as a major non-government supporter of mental illness research. It has also effectively engaged Rotary clubs at a local level to increase community awareness of mental illness and to reduce stigma.

Using simulation to educate police about mental illness: A collaborative initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wendy Stanyon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Mental illness is a major public health concern in Canada and also globally. According to the World Health Organization, five of the top ten disabilities worldwide are mental health disorders. Within Canada, one in five individuals is living with mental illness each year. Currently, there are 6.7 million Canadians living with mental illness and over 1 million Canadian youth living with mental illness. Police are frequently the first responders to situations in the community involving people with mental illness, and police services are increasingly aware of the need to provide officers with additional training and strategies for effectively interacting with these citizens. This study examined the effectiveness of four online, interactive video-based simulations designed to educate police officers about mental illness and strategies for interacting with people with mental illness. The simulations were created through the efforts of a unique partnership involving a police service, a mental health facility and two postsecondary institutions. Frontline police officers from Ontario were divided into one of three groups (simulation, face to face, control. Using a pre- and post-test questionnaire, the groups were compared on their level of knowledge and understanding of mental illness. In addition, focus groups explored the impact of the simulations on officers’ level of confidence in engaging with individuals with mental illness and officers’ perceptions of the simulations’ ease of use and level of realism. The study’s findings determined that the simulations were just as effective as face-to-face learning, and the officers reported the simulations were easy to use and reflected real-life scenarios they had encountered on the job. As mental health continues to be a major public concern, not only in Canada but also globally, interactive simulations may provide an effective and affordable education resource not only for police officers but for

Health Status of Individuals With Serious Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Dickerson, Faith B.; Brown, Clayton H.; Daumit, Gail L.; LiJuan, Fang; Goldberg, Richard W.; Wohlheiter, Karen; Dixon, Lisa B.

2006-01-01

We examined indices of the health of persons with serious mental illness. A sample of 100 adults with schizophrenia and 100 with major mood disorder were recruited from randomly selected outpatients who were receiving community-based psychiatric treatment. Participants were surveyed about health indicators using items from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study III and the National Health Interview Survey. Their responses were compared with those of matched samples from the general population surveys. A total of 1% of persons with serious mental illness, compared with 10% from the general population sample, met criteria for all 5 of selected health indicators: nonsmoker, exercise that meets recommended standards, good dentition, absence of obesity, and absence of serious medical co-occurring illness. Within the mentally ill group, educational level, but not a diagnosis of schizophrenia versus mood disorder, was independently associated with a composite measure of health behaviors. We conclude that an examination of multiple health indicators may be used to measure overall health status in persons with serious mental illness. PMID:16469943

Components of implicit stigma against mental illness among Chinese students.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaogang Wang

Full Text Available Although some research has examined negative automatic aspects of attitudes toward mental illness via relatively indirect measures among Western samples, it is unclear whether negative attitudes can be automatically activated in individuals from non-Western countries. This study attempted to validate results from Western samples with Chinese college students. We first examined the three-component model of implicit stigma (negative cognition, negative affect, and discriminatory tendencies toward mental illness with the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT. We also explored the relationship between explicit and implicit stigma among 56 Chinese university college students. In the three separate SC-IATs and the combined SC-IAT, automatic associations between mental illness and negative descriptors were stronger relative to those with positive descriptors and the implicit effect of cognitive and affective SC-IATs were significant. Explicit and implicit measures of stigma toward mental illness were unrelated. In our sample, women's overall attitudes toward mental illness were more negative than men's were, but no gender differences were found for explicit measures. These findings suggested that implicit stigma toward mental illness exists in Chinese students, and provide some support for the three-component model of implicit stigma toward mental illness. Future studies that focus on automatic components of stigmatization and stigma-reduction in China are warranted.

Pattern of mental illness among women attending an infertility clinic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Female infertility is highly co-morbid with mental illness. In Nigeria, very few studies have been conducted to determine the pattern of mental illness among women with infertility. We aimed to determine the pattern of mental illness in a sample of women with female infertility as well as its associated correlates.

Access to dental care and dental ill-health of people with serious mental illness: views of nurses working in mental health settings in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Platania-Phung, Chris; Scott, David; Hanley, Christine

2015-01-01

People with serious mental illness experience higher rates of oral and dental health problems than the wider population. Little is known about how dental health is viewed or addressed by nurses working with mental health consumers. This paper presents the views of nurses regarding the nature and severity of dental health problems of consumers with serious mental illness, and how often they provide advice on dental health. Mental health sector nurses (n=643) completed an online survey, including questions on dental and oral health issues of people with serious mental illness. The majority of nurses considered the oral and dental conditions of people with serious mental illness to be worse than the wider community. When compared with a range of significant physical health issues (e.g. cardiovascular disease), many nurses emphasised that dental and oral problems are one of the most salient health issues facing people with serious mental illness, their level of access to dental care services is severely inadequate and they suffer significantly worse dental health outcomes as a result. This study highlights the need for reforms to increase access to dental and oral health care for mental health consumers.

Perceptions of mental illness among Muslim general practitioners in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Mental health literacy on the part of medical practitioners is an important component of mental healthcare. General practitioners (GPs) are typically the first doctors consulted by a person who is ill. Exploration of their perceptions regarding mental illness, aetiological issues and treatment is important. Objective.

Self-Stigma of Mental Illness in High School Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Leah I.; Michel, Natalie M.; Winter, Ariella; Young, Rebecca E.; Flett, Gordon L.; Goldberg, Joel O.

2013-01-01

Despite the prevalence of mental health problems, society continues to stigmatize and discriminate against people with mental illness and in particular, schizophrenia. Among the negative consequences of stigma, is that some individuals with mental illness internalize negative stereotypes about themselves, referred to as self-stigma, which is…

Obesity and Mental Illness

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

People with serious mental illness who are overweight or obese can benefit from taking part in a fitness program called InSHAPE where they receive help with fitness, weight loss, and even grocery shopping on a budget.

The stigma of mental illness in Arab families: a concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dardas, L A; Simmons, L A

2015-11-01

The stigma of mental illness varies significantly from culture to culture and from person to person. To date, little is known about how mental illness stigma manifests within the Arab community. This study aimed at bringing clarity to the concept of 'mental illness stigma' as it applies to Arab families. Nursing's holistic and patient-centered approach is integral to helping Arab patients and their families appropriately incorporate individual values, beliefs, and cultural perspectives into treatment plans. This study establishes a scientific alert for professionals at all levels to avoid making false generalizations about a specific culture that are not based on specific research findings from that culture. Accessing mental health services is a critical step towards reducing the burden of mental illness. The stigma of mental illness is one of the most common reasons for not seeking mental health care leading to negative health consequences and undue suffering for many individuals and their families. Stigma is embedded in its social context. What may be considered acceptable in one society may be considered unacceptable and open to stigmatization in other societies. Arabs have a shared set of values, beliefs, and traditions that are substantially different from those of Westerners. Further, in most Arab countries, formal mental health resources are scarce and people with mental illness experience the compounded disadvantages of poverty and illness stigma. To date, little is known about how mental illness stigma manifests within the Arab community making it difficult to design and test interventions that support Arab individuals with mental illness and their families in treatment seeking and adherence. Using Rodger's concept analysis method, we examined how 'mental illness stigma' operates within an Arab context as a first step towards elucidating culturally competent approaches to treatment. This analysis provides a foundation for future work in the areas of mental

Public attitudes toward mental illness in Africa and North America.

Science.gov (United States)

St Louis, K O; Roberts, P M

2013-03-01

Public attitudes toward mental illness in two widely disparate cultures, Canada and Cameroon, were compared using an experimental version of a survey instrument, the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Mental Illness or POSHA-MI(e). 120 respondents rated POSHA-MI(e) items relating to mental illness on 1-9 equal appearing interval scales: 30 in English and 30 in French in both Cameroon and Canada. Additionally, 30 matched, monolingual English, American respondents were included as a comparison group. In Canada (and in the USA), attitudes were generally more positive and less socially stigmatizing toward mental illness than in Cameroon. Differences between countries were much larger than differences between language groups. Consistent with other research, beliefs and reactions of the public regarding mental illness reflect stigma, especially in Cameroon. Cultural influences on these public attitudes are more likely important than language influences. Results of this field test of the POSHA-MI(e), documenting differences in public attitudes toward mental illness in two divergent cultures, support its further development.

Harsh parenting and encouragement from parents during childhood: Long-term effects on well-being, mental health, and major illness

OpenAIRE

Alkhalaf, Ahmed

2011-01-01

This thesis examines long-term, negative consequences of various behaviours characteristic of negative parenting styles, specifically verbal maltreatment (insulting children), physical maltreatment (beating or hitting children), and lack of encouragement. Psychological scales were employed to explore the relationship of each of these factors to mental and physical health in adults. As a part of this research, a new questionnaire, the Arabic Parenting Style Questionnaire (APSQ), was developed...

Mental Illness in Offender Populations: Prevalence, Duty and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Soderstrom, Irina R.

2007-01-01

Prisons are increasingly being filled with inmates who suffer from mental illness. This paper examines the prevalence of mental illness in American jails and prisons, the duty government and society has to provide appropriate mental health treatment, and the implications for inmate safety, costs, recidivism, and community reintegration if…

Mental illness: psychiatry's phlogiston.

Science.gov (United States)

Szasz, T

2001-10-01

In physics, we use the same laws to explain why airplanes fly, and why they crash. In psychiatry, we use one set of laws to explain sane behaviour, which we attribute to reasons (choices), and another set of laws to explain insane behaviour, which we attribute to causes (diseases). God, man's idea of moral perfection, judges human deeds without distinguishing between sane persons responsible for their behaviour and insane persons deserving to be excused for their evil deeds. It is hubris to pretend that the insanity defence is compassionate, just, or scientific. Mental illness is to psychiatry as phlogiston was to chemistry. Establishing chemistry as a science of the nature of matter required the recognition of the non-existence of phlogiston. Establishing psychiatry as a science of the nature of human behaviour requires the recognition of the non-existence of mental illness.

Stigma associated with mental illness: perspectives of university students in Qatar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zolezzi M

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Monica Zolezzi,1,2 Nawal Bensmail,2 Farah Zahrah,2 Salma Mawfek Khaled,3 Tayseer El-Gaili4 1Clinical Pharmacy and Practice, 2College of Pharmacy, 3Research Unit, Social and Economic Survey Research Institute, 4Student Counseling Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Background: Stigma in relation to mental illness is one of the main factors inhibiting people from seeking help. Studies have been undertaken looking into the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB about mental illness among residents in Qatar; however, none have looked specifically at students in higher education. The aim of this study was to understand the KAB toward mental illness among students at a Qatari university and determine if there are any differences based on gender, nationality, and college type. Methods: A convenience sample of students from all genders, colleges, and nationalities was approached to participate in a survey that consisted of four sections: demographic, beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences associated with mental illness. Chi-square testing was performed to test for differences in the distribution of proportions of our primary outcomes (students’ beliefs, attitudes, and help-seeking and treatment preferences. Results: A total of 282 students completed the survey. The majority of the participating students were females (59.3%, non-Qataris (64.3%, and enrolled in science-based colleges (62.7%. Beliefs reflecting poor mental health literacy, such as “medications to treat mental illness can cause addiction”, “mental illness is not like any other illness”, or that “mental illness is a punishment from God”, were reported by a majority of students (84.4%, 56.7%, and 50.2%, respectively. Stigmatizing attitudes that were endorsed by a majority of students included believing that people with mental illness cannot have regular jobs (60.2%, that people with mental illness are dangerous (65.7%, and that they would not marry

Implicit self-stigma in people with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüsch, Nicolas; Corrigan, Patrick W; Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V

2010-02-01

People with mental illness often internalize negative stereotypes, resulting in self-stigma and low self-esteem ("People with mental illness are bad and therefore I am bad, too"). Despite strong evidence for self-stigma's negative impact as assessed by self-report measures, it is unclear whether self-stigma operates in an automatic, implicit manner, potentially outside conscious awareness and control. We therefore assessed (i) negative implicit attitudes toward mental illness and (ii) low implicit self-esteem using 2 Brief Implicit Association Tests in 85 people with mental illness. Implicit self-stigma was operationalized as the product of both implicit measures. Explicit self-stigma and quality of life were assessed by self-report. Greater implicit and explicit self-stigma independently predicted lower quality of life after controlling for depressive symptoms, diagnosis, and demographic variables. Our results suggest that implicit self-stigma is a measurable construct and is associated with negative outcomes. Attempts to reduce self-stigma should take implicit processes into account.

Resolving mental illness stigma: should we seek normalcy or solidarity?

Science.gov (United States)

Corrigan, Patrick W

2016-04-01

Two approaches have emerged to deal with the stigma of mental illness: normalcy, where people with mental illness are framed as 'just like everyone else'; and solidarity, where the public agrees to stand with those with mental illness regardless of their symptoms. Pros and cons of each approach are considered. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.

Feelings of children when witnessing parents' illness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Wakiuchi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to learn the experiences of children who witness their parents' illness due to cancer. This is a descriptive, qualitative study, with six children between 10 and 12 years of age, children of cancer patients assisted by a support institution. The data were collected from July to August 2015, based on the guiding question:    "How do you feel about your father/mother's illness?" From the analysis, two categories emerged: Recognizing the disease and the possibility of the parents 'death and, Growing as a child and living as an adult: the repercussions of parents with cancer in their children's lives, which reveal that children understand cancer and the possibility of death of their parents, being also affected by the disease. By experiencing the fears and repercussions of cancer, children need assistance by the family and health team during their parents' illness.

A Literature Review on the Experience of Long-Term Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Elizabeth; Grant, Maria J

2018-06-01

To illuminate long-term experiences of mental illness from both research and autobiographical accounts. A literature review of English-language papers, 1950-2014, relating to the experience of long-term mental illness indexed in AgeInfo, AMED, ASSIA, British Nursing Index (BNI), CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycEXTRA, and PsychINFO. Twenty-five research papers and nine autobiographic accounts met the review criteria. Thematic analysis revealed nine themes: fear, explanation seeking, stigma, disability, coping strategies, control, support, change and learning, and life history. Specific gaps of note relate to age differences, acknowledgement of longevity of mental illnesses, and different cultural perspectives. Research Implications: There is an absence of longitudinal studies focused on experiences of long-term mental illness. The considerable length-of-time implicated in the experiences suggests that more individual life experience rather than illness focused studies are needed, enabling a holistic understanding. This includes studies from cultures other than the Western world. Greater transparency is needed in justifying age inclusions or passive exclusion of older peoples' perspectives. Knowledge of long-term mental illness experiences is of great importance to mental health practitioners. Evidence-based services cannot be provided if we do not have an holistic understanding of long-term mental illness. Social Implications: This review questions our ability to provide effective support for those experiencing long-term mental illness, in particular older people and different cultural perspectives. There appear to be no literature reviews that focus on the individual experience of long-term mental illness. It highlights the surprisingly small number of research studies available to inform mental health practitioners.

Experiencing Community: Perspectives of Individuals Diagnosed as Having Serious Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Bromley, Elizabeth; Gabrielian, Sonya; Brekke, Benjamin; Pahwa, Rohini; Daly, Kathleen A.; Brekke, John S.; Braslow, Joel T.

2013-01-01

Objective Community integration is recognized as a crucial component of recovery from serious mental illness. Although the construct of community integration can be measured with structured instruments, little is known about the subjective and experiential meaning of community and community involvement for persons with serious mental illness. Methods In 2010, 30 individuals with serious mental illness treated in two public mental health clinics completed semistructured interviews that elicited the places and people that they associate with the experience of community and the larger meaning of community in their lives. Results Participants described four experiences as integral to their concepts of community: receiving help, minimizing risk, avoiding stigma, and giving back. Participants looked for communities that provide reliable support, and they described the need to manage community contact in order to protect themselves and others from their symptoms and from discrimination. Most participants experienced communities centered on mental health treatment or mentally ill peers as providing opportunities for positive engagement. Conclusions The experience of having a serious mental illness shapes preferences for and perceptions of community in pervasive ways. Participants describe community involvement not as a means to move away from illness experiences and identities but as a process that is substantially influenced by them. Mental health communities may help individuals with serious mental illness to both manage their illness and recognize and enjoy a sense of community. The findings indicate the need for further research on the relationship between community integration and outcome in serious mental illness. PMID:23545784

Adult Neurogenesis and Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenfeld, Timothy J; Cameron, Heather A

2015-01-01

Several lines of evidence suggest that adult neurogenesis, the production of new neurons in adulthood, may play a role in psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Medications and other treatments for mental disorders often promote the proliferation of new neurons; the time course for maturation and integration of new neurons in circuitry parallels the delayed efficacy of psychiatric therapies; adverse and beneficial experiences similarly affect development of mental illness and neurogenesis; and ablation of new neurons in adulthood alters the behavioral impact of drugs in animal models. At present, the links between adult neurogenesis and depression seem stronger than those suggesting a relationship between new neurons and anxiety or schizophrenia. Yet, even in the case of depression there is currently no direct evidence for a causative role. This article reviews the data relating adult neurogenesis to mental illness and discusses where research needs to head in the future. PMID:25178407

Adult Smoking Among People with Mental Illness PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This 60 second public service announcement is based on the February 2013 CDC Vital Signs report, which shows that cigarette smoking is a serious problem among adults with mental illness. More needs to be done to help adults with mental illness quit smoking and make mental health facilities tobacco-free.

Gun policy and serious mental illness: priorities for future research and policy.

Science.gov (United States)

McGinty, Emma Elizabeth; Webster, Daniel W; Barry, Colleen L

2014-01-01

In response to recent mass shootings, policy makers have proposed multiple policies to prevent persons with serious mental illness from having guns. The political debate about these proposals is often uninformed by research. To address this gap, this review article summarizes the research related to gun restriction policies that focus on serious mental illness. Gun restriction policies were identified by researching the THOMAS legislative database, state legislative databases, prior review articles, and the news media. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases were searched for publications between 1970 and 2013 that addressed the relationship between serious mental illness and violence, the effectiveness of gun policies focused on serious mental illness, the potential for such policies to exacerbate negative public attitudes, and the potential for gun restriction policies to deter mental health treatment seeking. Limited research suggests that federal law restricting gun possession by persons with serious mental illness may prevent gun violence from this population. Promotion of policies to prevent persons with serious mental illness from having guns does not seem to exacerbate negative public attitudes toward this group. Little is known about how restricting gun possession among persons with serious mental illness affects suicide risk or mental health treatment seeking. Future studies should examine how gun restriction policies for serious mental illness affect suicide, how such policies are implemented by states, how persons with serious mental illness perceive policies that restrict their possession of guns, and how gun restriction policies influence mental health treatment seeking among persons with serious mental illness.

Dorothea dix: A proponent of humane treatment of mentally ill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamonud Modak

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The work of early pioneers like Dorothea Dix was instrumental in the establishment of institutions dedicated especially for the care of the mentally ill. Originally from the United States, she became acquainted with the idea of humane treatment of the mentally ill during her visit to England. After her return to the United States, she conducted a statewide investigation of care for the insane poor in Massachusetts and began to extensively lobby for reforms and establishment of more state-funded institutions for the care of mentally ill. Her efforts led to setting up of several mental health institutions, which became the cornerstone of care of psychiatrically ill, and for training of mental health care providers. Though subsequently, the hegemony of the institutions was challenged, and the era of deinstitutionalization was ushered in, the work of Dorothea Dix is important as it vouched for humane care of patients with mental illnesses.

Comorbidity profile and healthcare utilization in elderly patients with serious mental illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrie, Hugh C; Lindgren, Donald; Hay, Donald P; Lane, Kathleen A; Gao, Sujuan; Purnell, Christianna; Munger, Stephanie; Smith, Faye; Dickens, Jeanne; Boustani, Malaz A; Callahan, Christopher M

2013-12-01

Patients with serious mental illness are living longer. Yet, there remain few studies that focus on healthcare utilization and its relationship with comorbidities in these elderly mentally ill patients. Comparative study. Information on demographics, comorbidities, and healthcare utilization was taken from an electronic medical record system. Wishard Health Services senior care and community mental health clinics. Patients age 65 years and older-255 patients with serious mental illness (schizophrenia, major recurrent depression, and bipolar illness) attending a mental health clinic and a representative sample of 533 nondemented patients without serious mental illness attending primary care clinics. Patients having serious mental illness had significantly higher rates of medical emergency department visits (p = 0.0027) and significantly longer lengths of medical hospitalizations (p mentally ill group (p seriously mentally ill. The differences in healthcare utilization between the groups remained significant after adjusting for comorbidity levels, lifestyle factors, and attending primary care. Our findings of higher rates of emergency care, longer hospitalizations, and increased frequency of falls, substance abuse, and alcoholism suggest that seriously mentally ill older adults remain a vulnerable population requiring an integrated model of healthcare. Copyright © 2013 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single parents of children with chronic illness: an understudied phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ronald T; Wiener, Lori; Kupst, Mary Jo; Brennan, Tara; Behrman, Richard; Compas, Bruce E; David Elkin, T; Fairclough, Diane L; Friebert, Sarah; Katz, Ernest; Kazak, Anne E; Madan-Swain, Avi; Mansfield, Nancy; Mullins, Larry L; Noll, Robert; Patenaude, Andrea Farkas; Phipps, Sean; Sahler, O J; Sourkes, Barbara; Zeltzer, Lonnie

2008-05-01

To examine the chronic illness literature and evaluate the impact on single parenting and children and adolescents with chronic illness. We conducted literature reviews of relevant research pertaining to single-parent families on PubMed, Medline, and PsychINFO and also surveyed pertinent book chapters and all of the articles from the Journal of Pediatric Psychology since 1987 for articles, specifically examining the potential associations of single (lone) parenting versus two-parent households on children's psychosocial functioning and the impact of the child's illness on caregiver functioning. While the literature has examined and discussed the stressors associated with parenting a child with an illness, including the impact of illness on finances, family roles, and caregiver burden, few studies have examined single parents of children and adolescents with chronic illnesses and related stressors stemming from being a lone caregiver. There is a dearth of studies examining the association between lone parenting and psychosocial functioning among children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. Specific questions necessitating future investigation are summarized and recommendations are made for future research in this important area of inquiry.

Focus Groups Investigating Mental Health Attitudes and Beliefs of Parents and Teachers in South Lebanon: Are They Culturally Determined?

Science.gov (United States)

Doumit, Myrna A A; Farhood, Laila F; Hamady, Carmen

2018-05-01

The wars that Lebanon had endured led to a devastating number of deaths, injuries, and displacements. Such tragedies have detrimentally affected its civilians psychologically. To identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices of teachers and parents concerning child/adolescent mental health. Using purposeful sampling, five focus groups were conducted with teachers and parents of students from elementary, middle, and secondary levels in two private hub schools in South Lebanon. A total of 27 teachers and 18 parents participated separately in focus groups. Three themes emerged: (a) Mental health care is a priority for overall health, (b) Mental illness is a cultural taboo, and (c) There is a need for better education and cultural understanding about mental health. This is the first study in Lebanon directly targeted at parents' and teachers' mental health concerns. Such findings will add to transcultural nursing knowledge about the importance of mental health care.

Stereotactic lesioning for mental illness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, M.-C.; Lee, T.-K.

2008-01-01

The authors report stereotactically created lesioning by radiofrequency or Cyberknife radiosurgery for patients with mental illness. Since 1993, thirty-eight patients have undergone stereotactic psychosurgery for medically intractable mental illnesses. Two patients had aggressive behavior. Twenty-five patients suffered from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and ten patients had depression. Another patient suffered from atypical psychosis. Bilateral amygdalotomy and subcaudate tractotomy were done for aggressive behavior. Limbic leucotomy or anterior cingulotomy was done for CCD and subcaudate tractotomy with or without cingulotomy was done for depression. In twenty-three patients, the lesions were made by a radiofrequency (RF) lesion generator. In fifteen cases, the lesions were made with Cyberknife Radiosurgery (CKRS). The Overt Aggression Scale (OAS) declined from 8 to 2 with clinical improvement during follow up period. With long-term follow up (meaning 57 months) in 25 OCDs, the mean Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Score (YBOCS) declined from 34 to 13 (n = 25). The Hamilton Depression scale (HAMD) for ten patients with depression declined from 38.5 to 10.5 (n = 10). There was no operative mortality and no significant morbidity except one case with transient urinary incontinence. Authors suggest that stereotactic psychosurgery by RF and CKRS could be a safe and effective means of treating some medically intractable mental illnesses. (author)

Experiences With Insurance Plans and Providers Among Persons With Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowan, Kathleen; Shippee, Nathan D

2016-03-01

This study used nationally representative household survey data to examine the association between mental illness and experiences with usual care providers and health plans among persons with public or private insurance (N=25,176). Data were from the 2004-2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys. Mental illness was assessed with symptom scales of serious psychological distress and depression at two time points, and persons were categorized by whether mental illness was episodic or persistent over time. Questions about experiences with providers (four questions) and plans (five questions) were based on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. Rates of problems with plans and providers were reported for each category of mental illness, and multivariate regression was used to examine the association of problems with mental illness. Rates of problems with health plans were high, specifically for treatment approvals, finding information, and customer service, and were higher among persons with mental illness. Rates of problems with providers were lower than problems with plans, but persons with mental illness were more likely to report problems, specifically that doctors do not explain treatment options, respect treatment choices, or seek participation in decisions. Persons with mental illness reported experiencing more clinical and administrative problems at their usual source of care, although the reasons were not clear. Efforts by plans to improve health care before and after the clinical encounter and by providers to design treatments in line with patient preferences may improve experiences for all patients and particularly for those with mental illness.

Parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress: a cross-illness comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Hullmann, Stephanie E; Wolfe-Christensen, Cortney; Ryan, Jamie L; Fedele, David A; Rambo, Philip L; Chaney, John M; Mullins, Larry L

2010-12-01

The current study sought to investigate differences in parenting capacity variables across four disease groups. Parents (N = 425), the majority of whom were mothers, of children with either cancer, asthma, Type 1 diabetes, or cystic fibrosis, completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parenting stress. After controlling for significant demographic variables, parents of children with cystic fibrosis and asthma reported higher perceived child vulnerability than parents of children with either diabetes or cancer, while parents of children with asthma and diabetes reported higher parenting stress than parents of children with cancer or cystic fibrosis. No differences between disease groups were found for parental overprotection. The current study provides support for an illness-specific approach to understanding parenting capacity variables in the context of childhood chronic illnesses.

Eugenics, genetics, and mental illness stigma in Chinese Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

WonPat-Borja, Ahtoy J; Yang, Lawrence H; Link, Bruce G; Phelan, Jo C

2012-01-01

The increasing interest in the genetic causes of mental disorders may exacerbate existing stigma if negative beliefs about a genetic illness are generally accepted. China's history of policy-level eugenics and genetic discrimination in the workplace suggests that Chinese communities will view genetic mental illness less favorably than mental illness with non-genetic causes. The aim of this study is to identify differences between Chinese Americans and European Americans in eugenic beliefs and stigma toward people with genetic mental illness. We utilized data from a 2003 national telephone survey designed to measure how public perceptions of mental illness differ if the illness is described as genetic. The Chinese American (n = 42) and European American (n = 428) subsamples were analyzed to compare their support of eugenic belief items and measures of stigma. Chinese Americans endorsed all four eugenic statements more strongly than European Americans. Ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between genetic attribution and three out of five stigma outcomes; however, genetic attribution actually appeared to be de-stigmatizing for Chinese Americans while it increased stigma or made no difference for European Americans. Our findings show that while Chinese Americans hold more eugenic beliefs than European Americans, these attributions do not have the same effect on stigma as they do in Western cultures. These results suggest that future anti-stigma efforts must focus on eugenic attitudes as well as cultural beliefs for Chinese Americans, and that the effects of genetic attributions for mental illness should be examined relative to other social, moral, and religious attributions common in Chinese culture.

'Individualism-collectivism' as an explanatory device for mental illness stigma.

Science.gov (United States)

Papadopoulos, Chris; Foster, John; Caldwell, Kay

2013-06-01

The aim of this study is investigate whether the cross-cultural value paradigm 'individualism-collectivism' is a useful explanatory model for mental illness stigma on a cultural level. Using snowball sampling, a quantitative questionnaire survey of 305 individuals from four UK-based cultural groups (white-English, American, Greek/Greek Cypriot, and Chinese) was carried out. The questionnaire included the 'Community Attitudes to Mental Illness scale' and the 'vertical-horizontal individualism-collectivism scale'. The results revealed that the more stigmatizing a culture's mental illness attitudes are, the more likely collectivism effectively explains these attitudes. In contrast, the more positive a culture's mental illness attitudes, the more likely individualism effectively explains attitudes. We conclude that a consideration of the individualism-collectivism paradigm should be included in any future research aiming to provide a holistic understanding of the causes of mental illness stigma, particularly when the cultures stigmatization levels are particularly high or low.

The other side of caring: adult children with mental illness as supports to their mothers in later life.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, J S

1995-05-01

This article discusses the role of adult children with serious mental illness as a source of support to their aging parents. The data come from a cross-sectional study of 105 mothers age 55 and older who were living with and caring for an adult child with a serious mental illness. The mothers participated in in-depth face-to-face interviews conducted in their homes and also completed a set of self-administered questionnaires. The majority of mothers in this study reported that their children provided at least some ongoing help with a range of daily living tasks. As hypothesized, the adult child's assistance and support were related significantly to lower levels of maternal subjective burden. By beginning to acknowledge the contributions that people with mental illness make to their families, social workers can help clients maintain and sustain self-esteem and improve the quality of their lives.

What is a mental illness? Public views and their effects on attitudes and disclosure.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüsch, Nicolas; Evans-Lacko, Sara; Thornicroft, Graham

2012-07-01

'Mental illness' is a common label. However, the general public may or may not consider various conditions, ranging from major psychiatric disorders to stress, as mental illnesses. It is unclear how such public views affect attitudes towards people with mental illness and reactions to one's own potential mental illness, e.g. in terms of help-seeking or disclosure. In representative English population surveys the classification of six conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, drug addiction, stress, grief) as a mental illness was assessed as well as attitudes towards, and contact with, people with mental illness, intentions to disclose a mental illness and to seek treatment. A factor analysis of how strongly respondents perceived the six conditions as a mental illness yielded two factors: (i) major psychiatric disorders and (ii) stress- and behaviour-related conditions including drug addiction. In regression analyses, higher scores on the first, but not the second, factor predicted less perceived responsibility of people with mental illness for their actions, and more support for a neurobiological illness model and help-seeking. Classifying stress-related/behaviour-related conditions as mental illnesses, as well as not referring to major psychiatric disorders as mental illnesses, was associated with more negative attitudes and increased social distance, but also with stronger intentions to disclose a mental illness to an employer. Negative attitudes and social distance were also related to ethnic minority status and lower social grade. Referring to major psychiatric disorders as mental illnesses may reflect higher mental health literacy, better attitudes towards people with mental illness and help-seeking. A broader concept of mental illness could, although increasing negative attitudes, facilitate disclosure in the workplace. Public views on what is a mental illness may have context-dependent effects and should be taken into account in anti

Stigmatising of persons with a mental illness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vendsborg, Per; Nordentoft, Merete; Lindhardt, Anne

2011-01-01

Persons with a mental illness and their relatives experience discrimination and expect to be discriminated. The public regards them as unpredictable and dangerous and do not wish to have any relation with them neither in private nor at work. This opinion is shared by people working in health care...... or social care. The myth of dangerousness is out of proportion and the media is to blame as they most often mention persons with mental illnesses as dangerous. Many countries make a great effort to reduce stigma and this is also under planning in Denmark.......Persons with a mental illness and their relatives experience discrimination and expect to be discriminated. The public regards them as unpredictable and dangerous and do not wish to have any relation with them neither in private nor at work. This opinion is shared by people working in health care...

Evaluating Explicit and Implicit Stigma of Mental Illness in Mental Health Professionals and Medical Students

OpenAIRE

Kopera, Maciej; Suszek, Hubert; Bonar, Erin; Myszka, Maciej; Gmaj, Bart?omiej; Ilgen, Mark; Wojnar, Marcin

2014-01-01

The study investigated explicit and implicit attitudes towards people with mental illness among medical students (non-professionals) with no previous contact with mentally ill patients and psychiatrists and psychotherapists (professionals) who had at least 2?years of professional contact with mentally ill patients. Explicit attitudes where assessed by self-report. Implicit attitudes were measured with the Go/No-Go Association Task, a variant of the Implicit Association Test that does not requ...

Trends in newspaper coverage of mental illness in Canada: 2005-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitley, Rob; Berry, Sarah

2013-02-01

Much research suggests that the general public relies on the popular media as a primary source of information about mental illness. We assessed the broad content of articles relating to mental illness in major Canadian newspapers over a 6-year period. We also sought to assess if such content has changed over time. We conducted a retrospective analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage from 2005 to 2010. Research assistants used a standardized guide to code 11 263 newspaper articles that mention the terms mental health, mental illness, schizophrenia, or schizophrenic. Once the articles were coded, descriptive statistics were produced for overarching themes and time trend analyses from 2005 to 2010. Danger, violence, and criminality were direct themes in 40% of newspaper articles. Treatment for a mental illness was discussed in only 19% of newspaper articles, and in only 18% was recovery or rehabilitation a significant theme. Eighty-three per cent of articles coded lacked a quotation from someone with a mental illness. We did not observe any significant changes over time from 2005 to 2010 in any domain measured. There is scope for more balanced, accurate, and informative coverage of mental health issues in Canada. Newspaper articles infrequently reflect the common realities of mental illness phenomenology, course, and outcome. Currently, clinicians may direct patients and family members to other resources for more comprehensive and accurate information about mental illness.

Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale: a multinational review.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Jennifer E; Adler, Emerald P; Otilingam, Poorni G; Peters, Townley

2014-01-01

The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale is a 29-item questionnaire measuring self-stigma among persons with psychiatric disorders. It was developed with substantial consumer input and has been widely used, but its psychometric qualities have not been comprehensively evaluated across multiple versions. Here we review the 55 known versions, and provide the 47 available versions, including: Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong), Croatian, Dutch, English (USA, South Africa), Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lithuanian, Lugandan, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Slovenian, Spanish (Spain), Swahili, Swedish, Tongan, Turkish, Urdu, and Yoruba, and qualitative English and Swahili versions, as well as versions for depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, eating disorders, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, leprosy, smoking, parents and caregivers of people with mental illness, and ethnicity. The various versions show reliability and validity across a wide range of languages, cultures, and writing systems. The most commonly reported findings of studies using the ISMI are that internalized stigma correlates with higher depression, lower self esteem, and higher symptom severity. Initial studies of ways to reduce internalized stigma are promising and warrant further investigation. © 2014.

Gender, mental illness and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Science.gov (United States)

Pathare, Soumitra; Nardodkar, Renuka; Shields, Laura; Bunders, Joske F G; Sagade, Jaya

2015-01-01

Section 5(ii) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) states that under certain circumstances, mental illness is accepted as a ground for the annulment of marriage, while Section 13(1) (iii) states that mental illness is a ground for divorce. There is little data on how this provision is used and applied in matrimonial petitions. This paper assesses judicial practices in divorce cases, exploring the extent to which gender and the diagnosis of mental illness affect the decision to grant annulment or divorce. The paper analyses judgments related to annulment and divorce at the Family Court in Pune and at the High Courts in India. In the Family Court at Pune, 85% of the cases were filed by husbands, who alleged that their spouse was mentally ill. Medical evidence of mental illness was presented in only 36% of the cases and in many cases, divorce/nullity was granted even in the absence of medical evidence. In 14% of the cases, nullity/divorce was granted even when both spouses were not present. Of the Family Court cases reaching the High Court, 95% were filed by male petitioners. The High Courts reversed the lower courts' judgments in 50% of the cases. Our analysis highlights the need for standardised guidelines for lower courts on what constitutes adequate medical proof of mental illness when hearing a petition related to nullity or divorce under HMA. It also provides a critical review of Section 5(ii) of HMA.

Stigma and intellectual disability: potential application of mental illness research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ditchman, Nicole; Werner, Shirli; Kosyluk, Kristin; Jones, Nev; Elg, Brianna; Corrigan, Patrick W

2013-05-01

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and individuals with mental illness are consistently found to be among the most socially excluded populations and continue to face substantial health, housing, and employment disparities due to stigma. Although this has spurred extensive research efforts and theoretical advancements in the study of stigma toward mental illness, the stigma of ID has received only limited attention. In this article we explore the application of mental illness stigma research for ID. We carefully reviewed the existing research on mental illness stigma as a foundation for a parallel summary of the empirical literature on attitudes and stigma related to ID. Based on our review, there has not been a systematic approach to the study of stigma toward ID. However, multilevel conceptual models of stigma have received much attention in the mental illness literature. These models have been used to inform targeted interventions and have application to the study of the stigma process for individuals with ID. Nonetheless, there are indeed key differences between-as well as substantial variability within-the ID and mental illness populations that must be considered. Stigma is an issue of social justice impacting the lives of individuals with ID, yet there remains virtually no systematic framework applied to the understanding of the stigma process for this group. Future research can draw on the stigma models developed in the mental illness literature to guide more rigorous research efforts and ultimately the development of effective, multilevel stigma-change strategies for ID.

The effects of news stories on the stigma of mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Corrigan, Patrick W; Powell, Karina J; Michaels, Patrick J

2013-03-01

The media are often identified as partially responsible for increasing the stigma of mental illness through their negatively focused representations. For many years, training programs have educated journalists on how to report on mental illness to reduce stigma. This purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of reading a positive, neutral or a negative journalism article that discusses mental illness. Consenting adult participants were randomly assigned to read one of three published articles about recovery from mental illness, a dysfunctional public mental health system, or dental hygiene. The participants completed measures immediately before and after the intervention; the measures administered evaluated stigmatizing and affirming attitudes toward people with mental illness. Public stigma was assessed using the nine-item Attribution Questionnaire and the Stigma Through Knowledge Test (STKT). The STKT is a measure of mental illness stigma less susceptible to the impact of social desirability. Affirming attitudes represent public perceptions about recovery, empowerment, and self-determination, indicated as important to accepting and including people with psychiatric disabilities into society. Significant differences were observed between the articles on recovery and dysfunctional public mental health system, as well as the control condition, on the measures of stigma and affirming attitudes. The recovery article reduced stigma and increased affirming attitudes, whereas the dysfunctional public mental health system article increased stigma and decreased affirming attitudes. Not all journalistic stories have positive effects on attitudes about mental illness.

Stigmatising attitudes towards the mentally ill: A survey in a Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. The burden of mental illness is particularly severe for people living in low-income countries. Negative attitudes towards the mentally ill, stigma experiences and discrimination constitute part of this disease burden. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge of possible causes of mental illness ...

Parent Preferences for Shared Decision-making in Acute Versus Chronic Illness.