Children of mentally ill parents: the relationship between coping with a parental mental illness and children's mental health

Background: Literature on the high-risk population of children of mentally ill parents asserts that there is a relationship between coping with a parental mental illness and children's mental health. However, there has been little empirical research on the assumed relation. Objective: In a sample of mentally ill parents (N = 62), individual and familial coping mechanisms (physicians' and patients' ratings) and their impact on the children's mental health (parent reports) were examined. Methods: Coping strategies and adequacy were measured by the FKV-LIS and items taken out of PANSS as well as through adhoc physician statements. Familial coping was rated on adhoc items by the parents themselves. The children's mental health status was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist parent report form (CBCL/4-18). Results: The results indicate that children's mental health is affected by certain coping mechanisms of the ill parent. The appropriateness of coping with the illness has a reverse effect on the children's symptoms: the greater the lack of insight into the illness, the less severe the child's reported mental heath symptoms are. In families with adequate coping, where open communication about the illness is predominant, the children's overall symptoms were reported to be mild or moderate. A multiple regression analysis confirmed the relevance of coping. Conclusions: When screening for mental health problems in children of patients with low insight into illness or inappropriate coping mechanisms, further sources of information should be taken into account, since psychological disturbances might not be perceived by the parents.