DISQUALIFYING FAMILY COMMUNICATION AND CHILDHOOD SOCIAL COMPETENCE ASPREDICTORS OF OFFSPRINGS MENTAL-HEALTH AND HOSPITALIZATION - A 10 TO 14-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF CHILDREN AT RISK OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
L. Wichstrom et al., DISQUALIFYING FAMILY COMMUNICATION AND CHILDHOOD SOCIAL COMPETENCE ASPREDICTORS OF OFFSPRINGS MENTAL-HEALTH AND HOSPITALIZATION - A 10 TO 14-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF CHILDREN AT RISK OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 184(10), 1996, pp. 581-588
Forty-nine families from the University of Rochester Child and Family
Study were followed up 10 to 14 years after initial assessment. Two in
clusion criteria were applied: at least one of the parents had been ho
spitalized for a functional psychiatric disorder before initial assess
ment and, second, the male index offspring should be 18 years or older
at follow-up. Initial measures included observationally based coding
of the family's level of disqualifying communication toward the index
offspring, index child's scores on the Child Manifest Anxiety Scale, a
nd ratings of the index child's social competence carried out by peers
, teachers, and parents. Offspring outcome was measured by the Mental
Health Inventory, Global Assessment Scale (GAS), and hospitalization f
or psychiatric disorder. The results showed that every measure of offs
pring outcome was predicted by the amount of disqualification directed
to the offspring from the other family members. In addition, GAS scor
e and mental health were predicted by the offspring's competence as a
child. Family disqualification, childhood competence, and socioeconomi
c status accounted for 63% of the variance in adult GAS scores.