Do children of parents with schizophrenia have a higher incidence of other, related psychiatric conditions?
Since schizophrenia seems to involve multiple genes, it’s certainly possible to inherit only some of them and be affected in a different way. Other conditions such as depression, panic disorder, Asperger’s or Autism, or even extraordinarily low self esteem seem to be common among children of parents with schizophrenia. This could be related to genetic inheritance, the general stress of being a primary caregiver to a mentally ill parent, or a combination of factors. Some children also exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the result of, as one schizophrenia.com member put it, “growing up in a war zone with no training, no army behind us, [and] no rules.” It’s very important for children of mentally ill parents, whether they are formally diagnosed with a disorder or not, to get support for their own difficult situations. Many children of schizophrenic parents on our boards have indicated that support groups or individual therapy has been extremely important in their
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