Identifying Children and Parents Data concerning the incidence of adult psychiatric patients who also have dependent children is not routinely collected, leaving estimates to be made from census and epidemiological data. In Australia it can be roughly estimated that here are 27,000 children affected. This is based on the number of women aged 20 - 45, the incidence and age of onset of schizophrenia and affective disorders, and data on the proportion of women with such disorders who have children. This lack of data is not unique to Australia. This is more of an issue than in the past when it was both more routine to take children into care thus removing them from the negative effects associated with their parent's illness.
Some children are resilient to poor outcomes.
Different effects on children will be apparent at different stages of their lives. Babies may be less responsive and spontaneous, more withdrawn and apathetic. Primary school children may have low self esteem, be anxious and withdrawn. The aim of the research project was to identify needs of both children and their parents. Parents made a direct and valuable contribution to the research.