Psychopathology aspects of divorce
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Divorce, Separation, Emotionals disorders, Fanúly relationshipsAbstract
Forly children of separated parents treated at psychiatry Unit of the Hospital Materno-Infantil Vall d'Hebrón were studied. Forty children of non separated parents, who had never attended a psychiatric unit, recruited from the general population served as controls. Methods used for the examination were clinical history, clinical interview and school report. Tests administered according to age included: WISC/WAIS to measure 10 and STAI/STAIC for anxiety, Perception of differences (shape faces) and the CDS and ESPQ-CPQ/HSPQ questionaries for depression and personality, respectively. HTP projective tests and the family test were descriptively assessed. Among the results, a pathologic history in over 20% of divorced parents was notable. Educative attitudes towards children after divorce tended to be of over protection in mothers and strictness in fathers. Forty-seven per cent of mothers and 17.5% of fathers presented depressive symptoms. High levels of anxiety, 52.5% in mothers and 45% in fathers, respectively, were observed. Based on as equally distributed IQ, high percentages of sleep disorders, irritability, eating disorders, sadnes, somatizations, regressive behaviors, language disorders and decreased school performance were observed in patients with significant differences compared with controls.
Furthermore, attention in these children was altered in 50%, and 35% presented depressive symptoms. With respect to sex distribution, irritability and tyrannical conduct predominated in boys, while the incidence of sleep disorders and relationship alterations was higher in girls. In age groups, eating disorders redominated in children from 0 to 5 years and 12 to 18, and language alterations and regressive behavior in those from 6 to 11. Academic performance related problems appeared in children from 12 to 18, the results obtained in this study, therefore, lead us to appoint that children of separated parents suffer more emotional disorders that children of the normal population.
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