Familial features and co morbid psychiatric disorders inchildren with encopresis

Abstract

Familial features and comorbid psychiatric disorders in children with encopresis Objective: Information about the relationship between encopresis and parental and familial features is very limited. In addition, only a limited number of studies have examined the psychopathology of children with encopresis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the familial and parental features and also the comorbid psychopathology of children with encopresis. Method: Thirty patients with a diagnosis of encopresis and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. The Family Assessment Device (FAD), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) were administered to parents. Psychiatric diagnoses of the children were determined using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children, Lifetime Version (Kiddie-SADS-PL). Results: In all dimensions of the FAD, parents of the patients indicated worse family functioning compared to controls. Scores of the SCL-90-R did not reveal any significant difference between the two groups. According to the TCI, mothers of the patients scored lower on cooperativeness and compassion measures, and fathers of the patients scored lower on cooperativeness, empathy, self-transcendence, and transpersonal identification measures. Fathers of the patients also scored higher on impulsiveness and shyness measures. The children with encopresis had higher rates of comorbid oppositional defiant disorder according to the Kiddie-SADS-PL. Conclusion: This study indicates that impaired family functioning, particularly personality traits of the parents, may play an important role in the etiology or persistence of encopresis and that some other psychiatric conditions may accompany this disorder in children.