[Children of psychotic parents]

A focused review of a selected part of research on psychotic parents' children is being provided. The paper presents a general survey of high-risk-studies followed by a critical discussion of some of the research being done about the relatives of psychotic people. This discussion is inspired and guided by a crucial interest in the subjective dimension of biography.

It will be shown that there is only very little research being done on the perspective of the involved people themselves. The tradition of Bleuler and Anthony, demanding a strong shift to questions of resilience and coping, is being considered only hesitatively. On the other hand, qualitative research drawing on hermeneutic methods seems to be restricted to case studies mainly.

Children's capacity to integrate their experiences with a psychotic parent into their own lives very often shows up in biographic narratives. Thus it is accessible to a methodologically elaborated qualitative analysis. Considering the growing interest in children being affected by their parents' psychosis - especially in their ability to cope with their specific situation - the paper pleads for more extensive research on the biographies of these people and the narratives shaping them.