Parental mental illness can be linked to reduced family functioning, which is associated with more conflicts, less adaptability and cohesion as well as a disorganized pattern of everyday planning. Concurrently, family functioning is an important moderator for the influence of parental mental disorders on the development of the children. Consequently, the current study addresses the correlation of family functioning in families with mentally ill parents and the psychological health of the children. The sample consists of 67 mentally ill parents. Both parents and therapists completed questionnaires related to family functioning and the psychological health of the children. Family functioning was rated as dysfunctional in 38% of the families. The psychological health of the children was classified as clinical or subclinical in 43% of the cases. 52% of the children were rated to have no psychological problems. In families with good family functioning, children were assessed to have less psychological problems than in families with poor functioning. Children outside the clinical range lived in families with good family functioning and vice versa. Significant positive correlations were found between the FB-A scales, the CBCL/4-18 syndrome scales and the CBCL/4–18 total score. Results indicate that family functioning and psychological health of children in families with mentally ill parents correlate closely and represent potential targets for future family interventions.

Mental health problems (MHP) of parents are associated with an increased risk of psychological and developmental difficulties in their children. This study aims at analyzing population-based data of parents with MHP and their children and the effects of associated risk factors in order to further targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions. The BELLA study is the mental health module of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey among Children and Adolescents. MHP in parents and in their children as well as associated risk factors were examined in a sample of N = 1158 parents with children aged 11 to 17 years. Parental MHP were identified in 18.6% of the sample. Risk factors associated with parental MHP were low SES, parental unemployment, stressful life events, parental daily strain, parental chronic disease, and child MHP. A rate of 19.1% of the children of parents with MHP reported MHP themselves, the corresponding rate among children of parents without MHP was 7.7%. In multiple regression analyses the risk for children of parents with MHP to report MHP themselves was almost two times higher than the risk of children of parents without MHP. Other significant associations with child MHP included gender, the parents’ age, and stressful life events. Parental MHP constitute a significant risk for the mental health of their children. Targeted screening methods and preventive interventions are needed.

Zusammenfassung. Kinder psychisch belasteter Eltern bilden eine Hochrisikogruppe für die Entwicklung psychischer Auffälligkeiten und weisen im Vergleich zur Gesamtbevölkerung eine geringere gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität auf. Für die Entwicklung spezifischer präventiver und therapeutischer Unterstützungsprogramme wurden veränderungssensitive Faktoren der psychischen Gesunderhaltung in einer Stichprobe von psychisch belasteten Eltern und ihren 13- bis 17-jährigen Kindern untersucht. Es wurden signifikante Prädiktoren aus den drei Bereichen personale, familiäre und soziale Ressourcen sowohl für die psychische Gesundheit als auch für die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität identifiziert. Für psychische Gesundheit waren dies soziale Kompetenz, familiäre Unterstützung und Schulklima, für Lebensqualität Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung, Optimismus, Familienklima und Schulklima. Die Ergebnisse machen deutlich, dass personale, familiäre und soziale Ressourcen für Kinder psychisch belasteter Eltern von großer Bedeut... Factors Promoting Mental Health in Children of Parents With Mental Health Problems: Results of the BELLA Cohort Study Mental health problems in parents represent a well-established risk factor for a wide variety of maladaptive cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes in their children. More than half of these children develop psychiatric disorders in childhood or adolescence constituting a risk for psychiatric disorders being two to three times higher than in the total population. Furthermore, children of parents with mental health problems rate their health-related quality of life significantly worse than do children from the general population. However, not all children exposed to parental mental health problems develop psychiatric disorders later in life, and some of these children function better than expected, given the level of exposure to risk factors they have experienced. Recent findings suggest that personal resources such as the cognitive and social capabilities of the youth, ...

Background: Children of mentally ill parents have a three to seven times higher risk of developing mental disorders compared to the general population. For this high-risk group, specialized prevention and intervention programs have already been developed. However, there has been insufficient sytematic evaluation to date. Moreover, effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness data of the respective programs until today is very scarce and at the same time constitutes the pre-condition for the program's implementation into regular health care.Methods: The study consists of a two-group randomized controlled multicenter trial conducted at seven study sites throughout Germany and Switzerland. Participants are families with mentally ill parents and their children aged from 3 to 19 years. The intervention comprises 6 to 8 semi-structured sessions over a period of about 6 months. Topics discussed in the intervention include parental mental illness, coping, family relations and social support. Families in the control condition will receive treatment as usual. The children's mental health, assessed using the K-SADS-PL by blinded external raters will constitute the primary efficacy outcome. Further outcomes will be assessed from the parents' as well as from the children's perspectives. Participants are investigated at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months after baseline assessment. In addition to the assessment of various psychosocial outcomes, a comprehensive health-economic evaluation will be performed.Discussion: This paper describes the evaluation of a family-based intervention program for children of mentally ill parents (CHIMPs) in the regular health care system in Germany and Switzerland. A methodically sophisticated study design has been developed to reflect the complexity of the actual health care situation. This trial will contribute to the regular health care for the high-risk group of children of mentally ill parents.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02308462; German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00006806.