Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Page 45

ABSTRACTS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS I
s-XVIII/4 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Possible aetiological factors in pregnancy, delivery, and
*he perinatal period for lcelandic children with ADHD
Margrét Valdimarsdóttir, Physician, Landspítali Univcrsity Hospital, Dept. of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, Meöalholti 4, 105 Reykjavík. Agnes Huld Hrafnsdóttir, Ólafur Ó.
Guðmundsson, Páll Magnússon.
fnargval@lsh.is
Background: ADHD is a well known psychiatric disorder that
begins in childhood and can extend into adulthood. In the last
decade numerous studies have shown the importance of genetic
factors in the etiology in ADHD. However, other etiological factors
seem to be involved, and ADHD my in fact be a cluster of different
disorders rather than one homogenous entity.
Aims: To examine the frequency of some possible etiological fac-
tors for ADHD in Icelandic children with ADHD.
Method: Tlie participants were 225 children referred to the out-
patient unit of the Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the
Landspitali University Hospital during a 2 year period. Information
that the parents had provided in a questionnaire concerning preg-
nancy and the perinatal period was retrospectically analysed.
Results: Preliminary results show an increase in several factors such
as low birthweight, young age of the mother at time of birth of child,
and smoking during pregnancy for the ADHD children compared
to estimated mean values in the community.
Conclusions: This study shows, as research from other countries has
suggested, that there is an association between a number of factors
in pregnancy, delivery, perinatal period, and ADHD, even though
there still is not enough evidence to confirm definite etiological
factors.
S-XIX/1 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
^hy this topic?
Opuninj" renmrks by Tytti Soluntaus
S-XIX/2 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
^reventive intervention aimed at mentally ill mothers and
fBeir children with focus on early childhood
t-ene Lier, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Cognitive Research Unit, Hvidovre Hospi-
'3l, Psychiatric Department, Copenhagen. Denmark
Little is known concerning the epidemiology of mentally ill parents.
How many are they? How old are their children at the debute of
Parental mental illness? Which are the risks during the child’s
development? Knowledge of these and many other issues would be
helpful when planning preventive intervention towards this well-
known high-risk population.
During the last 20 years I have been involved in four projects
c°ncerning mentally ill mothers and their children. 1) An epidemio-
'°gical study on admissions to psychiatric institutions +/- two years
from childbirth and perinatal outcome for mother and child 2) A
Preventive intervention program aimed at nientally ill mothers and
their 0-3 year old infants 3) A qualitative investigation on problems
and needs experienced by parents with major psychiatric illness and
their children and 4) The Copenhagen Infant Follow-up Study
(CIFS): an ongoing follow-up study of mothers and children (now
13-15 years old) from project 2.
The paper will discuss: Which are the possibilities of preventive
intervention? Is it possible in infancy to identify early develop-
mental trajectories related to/predictive of later difficulties?
S-XIX/3 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Children of mentally ill immigrants
Marianne Kastrup. Consultant, Centre Transcultural Psychiatry, Rigshospitalet, 2100
Copenhagen, Denmark
marianne.kastrup@rh.dk
Background: Immigrant families compared to Danish comprise
more children. Tliis is also the case among families with a mentally
ill parent. Children from ethnic minorities growing up with a
psychiatric ill parent have received Iess attention and support com-
pared to Danish children.
Mentally ill immigrant parents may have a different threshold to
seek professional help due to different concept of mental illness,
stigma and taboo related to mental illness, and lack of knowledge
about available services.
Results: Refugee families may be particularly traumatized with a
risk that the traumatized individual may suffer from PTSD. This
implies that the person may e.g. exhibit mistrust and have a lowered
threshold with respect to irritability and outburst of aggressive be-
haviour. Such behaviour may be directed towards the children and
traumatized families may be reluctant to seek help and support,
fearing that any focus upon the family may lead to social interven-
tions and in the worst case removal of the child.
There is a tendency that health and other services see a prepon-
derance of refugee males but less attention is paid to females who
may tend to become invisible and isolated.
Children from such families show many symptoms reflecting
their dysfunction. They may act as small adults in the home, be
socially isolated, lack stimulation, and be told to remain silent
regarding the severity of the family problems.
Condusion: The paper will focus upon ways to strengthen the pre-
ventive aspects and interventions towards these children.
S-XIX/4 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Helping preschool and school aged children: The
Beardslee Family Intervention
Tytti Solantaus. Doctor, The Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health,
POB 220,00531 Helsinki, Finland
Tyttl Solantaus@stakes. ft
An initiative has been taken on a national Ievel in Finland (the
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and STAKES) to ensure that
the needs of the children of the mentally ill will be met. A special
project (the Efficient Family) was set up to develop means to work
with these families as part of their psychiatric services. The core of
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