Children of Mentally Ill Mothers: Mental Development,Somatic Growth and Social Outcome

Abstract

A two-year cohort of children of parapartum mentally ill mothers born in Stockholm during the mid-70s was studied with regard to mental development, somatic growth and social outcome. The observation period covered the pre-school-age period and the study was based on Well-Baby-Clinic (WBC) data. The findings were compared with those of matched controls. Nearly 40% of the children of the mentally ill mothers, compared to 3% of the controls, did not live with their biological mothers during the pre-school ages. No difference was found in somatic growth between the index and control children. However, more index children—especially those of addicts and neurotic or temporarily insufficient mothers—than controls suffered from developmental (p<0.05) and behavioural (p<0.001) disturbances. Fifteen per cent of the index children compared to 5% of the controls were judged by the staff of the WBC to be in need of treatment for psychological problems (p<0.01). The results of the present study emphasize the fact that children of mentally ill mothers constitute a high-risk group regarding mental and behavioural development. The study supports earlier research reports claiming that, while parental mental illness constitutes an important indicator of psychiatric risk for the children, the main risk stems from associated psycho-social disturbances in the family.

Keywords

mental illness mothers child development behaviour mental disturbance

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