FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IN RESIDENTIAL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDER AND MENTAL-RETARDATION

The goals of the study were to determine the extent of family involvem ent with children in residential treatment settings, to examine whethe r involvement diminishes over time, and to examine the relationship be tween involvement and the child's diagnosis as well as the demographic characteristics of the child and the family. Methods: Staff rated the level and frequency of family involvement with 234 children, aged fiv e to 19 years, living in three residential treatment centers. The chil dren were grouped according to three diagnostic categories: psychiatri c disorder, mental retardation, and dual diagnosis of psychiatric diso rder and mental retardation. Results: Almost one-third of the children had no family contact, and about 50 percent had three or fewer contac ts per year. The level of family involvement was lower with dually dia gnosed children than with children who had only psychiatric disorder o r mental retardation. Level of involvement was also related to the dri ving time between the family home and the residential facility and to socioeconomic status, variables that seemed to account for the lower l evel of involvement of families with dually diagnosed children. Conclu sions: Greater distance between the family home and the residential tr eatment center and low socioeconomic status greatly limit a family's a ccessibility for involvement with children in out-of-home placements. These obstacles are more likely to occur in families of dually diagnos ed children.