If one parent has a mental illness, what proportion of children . . .

[KidsHappen]

I am bi-polar, as is one of my brothers and was our mother. I am almost positive my oldest (ds) is bi-polar although not diagnosed. He has severe drug and alchohol problems. My first dd is not only perfectly normal in every way, she is the ideal mother. My second dd has always seemed a bit odd: difficulty understanding social boundries, enteracting with others , understanding feeling, etc. Maybe a little Ausbergerish but otherwise fairly normal and functional. However, since she has left home she is having some serious problems that are seriously out of character for her. Dd #4 has always had some anxiety, OCD and insomnia problems as well as a major life issue she is dealing with. #5 is bi-polat and treated. She is probably the second most normal of the bunch. No problems what-so-ever and there hasn't been in quite a long time. The youngest is having a lot of problems. She is definitely ADD, emotional, sensitive, etc. but it is hard to tell how much is due to hormones that will change in puberty. All of my dd's so far seem to have come out of puberty much different that when they went in. Anyhow, it seems that a larger than normal amount of them have problem than would be expevted based on statistical probability.

[Carrie12345]

I don't know what the "normal" proportion is, but it all does have a genetic component.

 

Ds's stepmother is bipolar. Her son has major bipolar-like issues, though not an official dx.

 

My ex and I both have Asperger-ish traits. Our son has Aspergers.

 

I'm ADHD. Dh has ADHD traits. Our 7yo is ADHD. She also has dyslexic and dysgraphic issues.

 

My 8yo appears to be the only "normal" so far, but we don't know how the two younger boys will turn out!

 

ETA: I believe the rate of ASDs is about twice the normal ratio for siblings of ASD kids. Considering ASDs may be as high as 1:<100, that's a pretty big deal.

Edited February 18, 2011 by Carrie1234

[m0mmaBuck]

From what I remember from college, the incidence of bipolar disorder is 1-2 percent of the general population but if one parent has bipolor disorder the risk to the kids is something like 15% and if both parents have the disorder it increases to 50%. I don't recall what the tie in is to other disorders like OCD, ADD, and so on but there is definitely a correlation to depression, anxiety, and other "mood disorders."

[Granny_Weatherwax]

From what I remember from college, the incidence of bipolar disorder is 1-2 percent of the general population but if one parent has bipolor disorder the risk to the kids is something like 15% and if both parents have the disorder it increases to 50%. I don't recall what the tie in is to other disorders like OCD, ADD, and so on but there is definitely a correlation to depression, anxiety, and other "mood disorders."

 

I am trying to enroll in graduate courses that discuss this exact topic.

[m0mmaBuck]

I am trying to enroll in graduate courses that discuss this exact topic.

 

I have a B.S. in Psychology but I haven't really used it (other than to get into my Masters Program for Physical Therapy). Tidbits of information come back to me now and then but it's been nearly 20 years since I have studied psychology. It's a fascinating field though.

[Paintedlady]

I am bi-polar, as is one of my brothers and was our mother. I am almost positive my oldest (ds) is bi-polar although not diagnosed. He has severe drug and alchohol problems. My first dd is not only perfectly normal in every way, she is the ideal mother. My second dd has always seemed a bit odd: difficulty understanding social boundries, enteracting with others , understanding feeling, etc. Maybe a little Ausbergerish but otherwise fairly normal and functional. However, since she has left home she is having some serious problems that are seriously out of character for her. Dd #4 has always had some anxiety, OCD and insomnia problems as well as a major life issue she is dealing with. #5 is bi-polat and treated. She is probably the second most normal of the bunch. No problems what-so-ever and there hasn't been in quite a long time. The youngest is having a lot of problems. She is definitely ADD, emotional, sensitive, etc. but it is hard to tell how much is due to hormones that will change in puberty. All of my dd's so far seem to have come out of puberty much different that when they went in. Anyhow, it seems that a larger than normal amount of them have problem than would be expevted based on statistical probability.

 

My mom is bi-polar but none of her 4 kids (I'm the youngest) has it. We all do have lasting scars that continue to affect our lives, but are mostly well-adjusted and functioning, with nice families & or jobs. My brother is definitely the odd one of the group, but not bi-polar by any means.

[elise1mds]

In my family, the likelihood of my kids having some sort of psychiatric disorder is pretty close to 100%. The amount of family history that DH and I have with serious issues is staggering. We start listing all of it off to doctors, and they stop us about halfway through and ask if we're serious. Um, yes, we are. Personally, I have serious bouts of anxiety and major depression. DH is the only one out of his four brothers who doesn't have anything that seriously affects him, though I strongly suspect he's PDD-NOS or Asperger's himself.

 

DS has his diagnoses of Asperger's, ADHD combined type, and anxiety; DD's are still pending but so far include generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, and probable mood disorder, rule out bipolar.

 

In some ways, I'm glad we stopped at two kids. This may sound awful, but I don't know that I could handle more, and it's not fair to them, either.

[sassenach]

I think it's all genetic. I have never met a person with a major psychiatric diagnosis who didn't have some family history. Maybe not the same exact dx, but something. We have a ton. Of course, a lot of it blends in with alcoholism, ACOA, a variety of personality disorders, ect. My paternal GM had major Bipolar and was institutionalized for most of my dad's childhood. I know nothing about her family history, but all 3 of her kids have had some level of issue. My uncle suffers from depression. I don't think my dad does, but he has such huge codependency issues, it broke up my family. My aunt is whacked out. I can't even explain her. She spends most of her time in a manic lala land. On my mom's side, lots and lots of drug and alcohol abuse. My mother is definitely the most normal of the bunch. Actually, my GF is the saving grace in that family. GM is an ACOA and carries ALL of the classic symptoms. My aunt has BP tendencies, but not severe. Her son, however, has severe BP and aspergers. His brother (aunts other son) had tourette's when he was young, but grew out of it. My brother and I have no issues. Part of that I credit winning the genetic lottery, the other part I credit having fairly normal childhoods. Not perfect (money issues, divorce), but not traumatic (no abuse or addictions).

Dh's dad's side is pretty clean as far as I know, though they're not a very open bunch. His mom's side is a mess. She is an ACOA. She also has paranoid personality disorder. The one that scares the crap out of me is my BIL. He has paranoid schizophrenia. I have known him since he was 14, and I have no memory of anything about him that would have indicated this was going to happen. To watch someone go from normal teenager to full psychiatric break is scary and heartbreaking. I think I could handle any of the various conditions in our family, but I can't tell you how scared it makes me to think that that timebomb could be ticking in one of my children.

 

Wow, so that was a long and winding way of saying, yes! I think it's genetic.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I would like a good answer to this as well. I have bi-polar 2 (not to be confused with regular bi-polar) and anxiety problems. My father is mentally unstable/delusional/thinks he's a prophet of God. He had a traumatic head injury at age 18/19, but it is possible he had symptoms before that. My Grandmother has something, but it's hard to say if her "checking" is OCD or memory problems, and she's paranoid about people breaking into the house/watching us through the windows, and doesn't trust doctors or medicine (she has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, with a huge tumor, but refuses to undergo surgery to have it removed or be treated.) However, she had 5 kids, who have a lot of kids, and all of them are "fine."

 

My husband has ADD, inherited from his mother, but his sister is fine (I think.)

 

My fil, who sees dysfunction/issues everywhere thinks my 4yo ds has ADHD, but it seams early to me; he could just be really energetic.

[chiguirre]

I think it's all genetic. I have never met a person with a major psychiatric diagnosis who didn't have some family history.

 

My sons and their cousins. No one in previous generations has autism or even seems to have undiagnosed Asperger's, yet there are 5 kids with asds that are formally dxed and severe enough to affect their life prospects in the kids' generation (out of about 100 kids). Even weirder, 2 of the parents are the most outgoing, people persons in dh's generation. Asds may have a genetic component, but they weren't expressed until this generation of under 18yos.

[Lara in Colo]

This is a complex answer. The percentage of the disorder depends on the type of genetic link. Is the disorder sex linked? Is the disorder recessive?

 

If it is sexlinked, then it can only pass to the next generation either an x or y chomosome.

If it is recessive, it needs both parents to have the gene to pass it on.

If it is dominent, only one parent.

 

You can make a simple chart to check it out once you know these answers.

 

The chart looks like a small checkerboard. Put the mother on top and the father along the side. Here I think this may help

 

http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/les4/casino/cas1ck.html

 

 

I took genetics 20yrs ago, this is all I can remember.

 

Lara

[Heidi]

I think my dad is mental, but I swear it totally skipped me. I'm super normal.:willy_nilly:

[Rosie_0801]

My mother was diagnosed as having depression years and years ago, but she mentioned being on epilim, so I'm thinking she's been rediagnosed to bipolar and doesn't want to tell us. (She's funny like that.) The rest of her family think she's had something going on since childhood.

 

My brother has no mental health issues that I'm aware of. I suffered a bout of pre-natal depression for a few months but nothing else, not even baby blues, thank goodness. My sister is a bit interesting but it could just be personality and certain environmental factors. Most of my maternal aunts have some sort of issue and they say my grandmother does too. I don't know how much of that is environmental though. Her situation would be enough to set anyone off...

 

Rosie