Features in families of boys with hyperkinetic and emotional disorders

Standardized assessment of a family's characteristics (conflict management, cohesion, etc.) is not used routinely, although these variables may play an important role in the course of psychological disorders in children. The present study investigated differences within the features of families of children with hyperkinetic and emotional disorders. Families of 20 boys diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperkinetic Disorder and 20 boys with Emotional Disorder (ages 6-12 years) by giving the Mannheim Parents Interview and the teacher's form of the Conners scale were included for evaluation and compared with a matched, healthy control group of 20 boys. Parents were asked to complete a form assessing the family's characteristics ("Familienklima-Testsystem"), including Cohesion, Expressiveness, Conflict Tendency, Individual Independence, Achievement Orientation, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation, Active-Recreational Orientation, Moral-Religious Emphasis, and Organization. Comparison of groups was made by the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test. There are significantly more conflicts in families whose children belong to the two disorder groups. Compared with a matched healthy control group, there is low Expressiveness, Independence, and Cultural and Active-Recreational Orientation in the Emotional Disorder group and a significant lack of Organization and Cohesion in the Attention Deficit Hyperkinetic Disorder group. Altogether there seems to be a significant association of Attention Deficit Hyperkinetic Disorder symptoms with the family's Cohesion and Organization. One implication is that therapists focus their efforts not only on the children with disorders but also on their families.