J Korean Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.  2017 Oct;28(4):235-243. 10.5765/jkacap.2017.28.4.235.

A Survey for Mental Health of Children Whose Parents Have Psychiatric Disorders: A Preliminary Study for Mental Health Screening of High Risk Children

• Seo HY
• Park SM
• Kim Y
• Yang YH
• Lee JY
• Lee HW
• Jung HY

• KMID: 2392936
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5765/jkacap.2017.28.4.235

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to evaluate the mental health status of the children of psychiatric patients in order to plan for the resources that may be necessary to help these children achieve their full potential.
METHODS
Forty-eight children (age 9-18) whose parents were registered in 5 community mental health centers located in Seoul were recruited. Tests assessing 3 psychological domains were conducted: 1) cognition: Korean version of Learning Disability Evaluation Scale, Comprehensive Attention Test, 2) parent reported emotion and behavior: Korean Child Behavior Checklist, Korean attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder Rating Scale, and 3) self-reported emotion and behavior: Korean Beck's Depression Inventory-II/Children's Depression Inventory-II, Korean Youth Self Report). We defined the children as having a high risk of developing mental health problems if their test scores were over the cut-off levels in 2 or more of the 3 domains assessed.
RESULTS
Twelve (25%) children were classified as having a high risk of developing mental health issues. 20 (41.6%) children scored above the cut-off in only one of the domains.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that the children of psychiatric patients might be vulnerable to mental illness and need early prevention or interven-tions for the sake of their mental health.

Keyword

Mental health; High risk; Screening

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Checklist
Child Behavior
Child*
Cognition
Community Mental Health Centers
Depression
Humans
Learning Disorders
Mass Screening*
Mental Health*
Parents*
Seoul