Family History of Mental Illness and it Association with Family Functioning in Youth at Risk for Serious Mental Illness
Poster B82, Tuesday, October%209, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Olga Santesteban-Echarri1, Glenda MacQueen1, Benjamin I. Goldstein2,3, Jian L. Wang4,5, Sidney H. Kennedy6,7,8,9,10, Signe Bray1,11,12, Catherine Lebel1,11,12, Jean Addington1; 1Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta Canada, 2Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 3Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 4Work & Mental health Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario Canada, 5School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario Canada, 6Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 7Department of Psychiatry, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 8Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Chair in Suicide and Depression Studies, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 9Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 10Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 11Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta Canada, 12Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta Canada; 13 Child & Adolescent Imaging Research (CAIR) Program, Calgary, Alberta Canada
Family functioning is at times impaired in families of individuals with a serious mental illness (SMI) compared to healthy controls. However, little is known about earlier stages of risk and the importance of the family environment for youth at-risk for SMI. Moreover, if these youth have a first-degree family member with SMI, family dynamics may be more disrupted. In the PROCAN study, we examined the association of a family history of mental illness (FHMI) using the Family Interview for Genetics Studies (FIGS) and family functioning using the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-IV (FACES-IV) for 41 non-help seeking youth with risk factors (Stage 0), 52 distressed youth with early mood and anxiety symptoms (Stage 1a), and 105 youth with subthreshold psychotic symptoms (Stage 1b). Independent samples Mann-Whitney U comparisons for those with FHMI compared to those without revealed that: in Stage 0, those with parental HMI or any FHMI had lower scores on all family functioning scales. In Stage 1b, where there was (i) a sibling with a SMI, increased rigidity in family functioning was reported; (ii) parental psychosis or mania, increased chaotic functioning was reported; and (iii) any parental SMI, decreased family communication was reported. For Stage 1a, sibling psychosis was associated with increased rigid functioning. FHMI is associated with general impairments in family functioning for youth with risk factors, while the association is more specific for youth at-risk for SMI who present with early signs of mood, anxiety or subthreshold psychotic symptoms with rigidity, chaotic or communication impairments.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research