Utilization of support service offers by families with a mentally impaired parent

Abstract

Background: Children of parents with a mental illness are often confronted with family stress and an increased risk of developing a mental disorder themselves. This highlights the importance of selective prevention services involving both parents and children. So far only little attention has been paid to what extent family-related therapeutic and consultation services for mentally ill parents also benefit the health care of their children. Objective: This study examined parent-related and child-related predictors for utilization of therapeutic care and family-related services among parents with self-reported impaired mental health and tested associations with the utilization of therapeutic care for children and adolescents, also focusing on pediatric mental health. Material and methods: Based on 844 parents with 1146 children aged 7–16 years who were interviewed in waves 11 and 12 of the German family panel pairfam, the main sample included 161 children whose parents reported symptoms of depression or a mental illness. Information on the utilization of therapy and family-related services was provided by one parent, information on child mental health was provided by the children themselves. Results: Approximately one third of parents with self-reported mental illness utilized a therapy. When therapy was utilized, other services for families and children were also used more frequently; however, children’s mental health problems had no further effect on their health care provision. Conclusion: The results indicate that mental health care for children of parents with compromised mental health is still insufficient, even if parents report being under medical treatment.