The British Journal of Psychiatry 140: 37-43 (1982)
© 1982 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
The relative timing of psychiatric disorder in parents and children
P Hobbs
The high incidence of psychiatric disorder in parents of disturbed children
is usually explained in reactive terms implying a relationship in time. The
records of children attending a child psychiatric service and the
psychiatric records of their parents were examined and the time between
episodes of illness in parent and child were calculated. Fathers' illnesses
preceded those of their daughters, but in general, there was little
evidence of any close relationship.