[Anxiolytics and hypnotics use by psychiatric inpatients' children: preliminary study]

Psychotropic drugs are widely used in adulthood in France, and few studies have yet been made concerning children. Literature studies have shown an important consumption on their part, increasing with age and especially for girls. Certain family factors which may prove to determine such use have been pointed out like family habits of toxique use, maternal depression, mother's occupation and family troubles. This consumption also seems related to psychiatric symptomatology in children together with previous use in childhood. This feasibility study will attempt to research the forms of anxiolytics and hypnotics use by children aged 6 to 16, one parent being a psychiatric in-patient. 51 in-patients of the university section have been included, corresponding to 74 children. The investigator look down socio-demographic date as well as anxiolytics and hypnotics use in a lifetime and that of antalgics for the week prior to the interview. The parents' depressive and anxious symptoms were measured by the HAD and the children's psychopathological symptoms by the CBCL. A phone contact was proposed to teenagers 13 to 16 years old. One patient only refused the interview, 7 patients left without filling in the questionnaire. The parents more often than not refused to establish contact with the teenager. Only 5 teenagers out of 22 could actually be interviewed. Whereas 94.1% of parents use psychotropic drugs, only 16.2% of children have used them throughout their lifetime. The consumption of these drugs is not related to age or sex but rather seems to be linked with the children's symptomatology. The development of this study should confirm these results on a wider scale through a different approach of teenagers.