Electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents with mood disorder: patients' andparents' attitudes

The aim of the study was to assess retrospectively patients' and parents' e xperiences and attitudes towards the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in adolescence. The experiences of subjects (n = 10) who were administered ECT in adolescence for a severe mood disorder and their parents (n = 18) w ere assessed using a semi-structured interview after a mean of 4.5 years (r ange, 19 months to 9 years). Their attitudes were mostly positive and ECT w as considered a helpful treatment. Concerns were frequently expressed, prob ably because ECT was not fully understood by the patients and their familie s. Most complaints were of transitory memory impairment. The parents were s atisfied with the consent procedure, while all but one patient did not reme mber the consent procedure. We concluded that, despite negative views about ECT in public opinion, adolescent recipients and their parents shared over all positive attitudes towards the use of ECT in this age range. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.