LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR CHILDREN OF MENTALLY-ILL PARENTS

Several risk factors have been associated with the increased risk of p sychologic disorders in the children of mentally ill parents. The auth ors review known risk factors and especially environmental consequence s of the parents' illness on children. The direct influence on childre n of being involved in psychotic actions due to psychotic misconceptio ns, ineffective parenting, and parent-child relationships is discussed ; and the indirect influence on children of a chaotic home environment is also examined. Known protective factors such as intelligent childr en, good basic social skills of the parents, and a good relationship t o a healthy adult carer are discussed with regard to preventive interv ention.