Prevalence of mental illness within families in a regional child-focussed mental health service
Abstract
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.
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Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health conditions experienced by young people and often co-occur with many other disorders.
“We have focused on depression and anxiety as these are among the most prevalent mental health conditions experienced by young people and often co-occur with many other disorders (22–24).”
From What Works and What Doesn’t Work? A Systematic Review of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression and Anxiety in Young People (2019) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Naughton, M. F. A., Maybery, D. J., & Goodyear, M.
- Affiliations
- Latrobe Regional Hospital (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
- Parenting Research Centre (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Naughton, Michael F. A.
- Venue
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-09-19
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 901-910
- ISSN
- 1445-8330 (ISSN-L)
- 1447-0349
- OpenAlex
- W2756412360
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 9.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- World Health Organization
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Family Support in Illness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family Caregiving in Mental Illness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- parental mental illness, child mental health, family mental illness, co-occurring mental disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, domestic violence, social support, child and adolescent mental health services, family intervention, regional mental health services
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health Services, Parents, Risk Factors, Prevalence, Child of Impaired Parents
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