Facts, figures and other information
There is currently a lack of systematic data regarding the number of
adults utilising Australian mental health services who are also parents
of dependant children. Many adult mental health services do not (or have
only recently begun to) record whether their clients have
children1.
Various surveys and audits in the United States of America and in Britain
suggest that at least 20% and in some cases up to 50% of adults known to mental
health services have children2.
Australian surveys have found that between 29% and 35% of mental health services
clients are female parents of dependant children under the age
of 183-5.
In 1995 Cowling et al6 estimated from census data and incidence rates that
at least 27,000 Australian children were affected by maternal psychotic illness
alone.
In 2005, Maybery and Reupert18 estimated that there were between 21 and 23% of children living in
Australian households where at least one parent has a mental illness, equating to just over a
million children at that time.
Not all children of parents with a mental illness will experience difficulties
as a result of their parent's health status7.
Estimates suggest that between one-third and two-thirds of children of
parents known to Adult Mental Health services will experience difficulties,
depending on sampling and assessment criteria2.
A combination of factors including genetic inheritance, psychosocial
adversity, the age of child, the nature of the mental illness, family
relationships, and the involvement in the child's life of adults other than
the mentally ill parent impact upon the child's risk of mental health
problems8-15.
The stigmatisation of people with mental illnesses and its negative
consequences can also affect all family members16.
The care burden on children of parents with a mental illness
(especially in sole-parent situations) may greatly affect their
participation in education and social life17.
References
1. AICAFMHA. Children of parents affected by a mental illness. Scoping
Project. Canberra: Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental
Health Association, 2001.
2. Falkov A, ed. Crossing bridges: Training resources for working with
mentally ill parents and their children. Reader for managers, practitioners
and trainers. Brighton, East Sussex: Pavilion Publishing for Department of
Health, U.K., 1998.
3. Cowling V, ed. Children of parents with mental illness. Melbourne: The
Australian Council for Educational Research, (ACER); 1999.
4. Hearle J, Plant K, Jenner L, Barkla J, McGrath J. A survey of contact
with offspring and assistance with child care among parents with psychotic
disorder. Psychiatric Services 1999; 50: 1354-1356.
5. Farrell GA, Handley C, Hanke A, Hazelton M, Josephs A. The Tasmanian
Children's Project Report: The needs of children and adolescents with a
parent/carer with a mental illness. Hobart: Tasmanian School of Nursing and
the Department of Health and Human Services; 1999.
6. Cowling VR, McGorry PD, Hay DA. Children of Parents With Psychotic
Disorders. Medical Journal of Australia 1995; 163: 119-120.
7. Anthony EJ, Cohler B. The Invulnerable Child. New York: Guildford Press,
1987.
8. Beardslee WR, Versage EM, Gladstone TR. Children of affectively ill
parents: a review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1998; 37: 1134-41.
9. Downey G, Coyne JC. Children of depressed parents: An Integrative Review.
Psychological Bulletin 1990; 108: 50-76.
10. Quinton D, Rutter M. Family pathology and child psychiatric disorder: A
four-year prospective study. In: Nicol AR, ed. Longitudinal studies in child
psychology and psychiatry. Chicester: John Wiley & Sons; 1985: 91-134.
11. Beck CT. Maternal depression and child behaviour problems: a meta-analysis.
Journal of Advanced Nursing 1999; 29: 623-9.
12. Klimes-Dougan B, Free K, Ronsaville D, Stilwell, J, Welsh, C J,
Radke-Yarrow, M. Suicidal ideation and attempts: A longitudinal investigation
of children of depressed and well mothers. Journal of the American Academy of
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1999; 38: 651-659.
13. Dickstein S, Seifer R, Hayden LC, Schiller, M, Sameroff, AJ, Keitner, G,
Miller, I, Rasmussen, S, Matzko, M, Magee, K. Levels of family assessment: II.
Impact of maternal psychopathology on family functioning. Journal of Family
Psychology 1998; 12: 23-40.
14. Wals M, Hillegers MHJ, Reichart CG, Ormel, J, Nolen, WA, Verhulst, FC.
Prevalence of psychopathology in children of a bipolar parent. Journal of the
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2001; 40: 1094-1102.
15. Radke-Yarrow M, Klimes-Dougan B. Parental depression and offspring
disorders: A developmental perspective. In: Goodman, Sherryl H. (Ed); Gotlib,
Ian H. (Ed). (2002). Children of depressed parents: Mechanisms of risk and
implications for treatment. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological
Association, 2002: 155-173.
16. Phelan JC, Bromet EJ, Link BG. Psychiatric Illness and Family Stigma.
Schizophrenia Bulletin 1998; 24: 115-126.
17. Carers Australia. Young Carers Research Project - Final Report. Canberra:
Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, 2001.
18. Maybery, D., A. Reupert, et al. (2005). VicHealth Research Report on Children at Risk in Families
affected by Parental Mental Illness.
Melbourne, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.
http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au
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