The impact of parental mental health difficulties on the developing child is well evidenced and documented. In this article Kate Olliver-Kneafsey, Ev Thornton and Wendy Williamson suggest that despite the difficulties young people face when parental mental illness is a feature of family life, it is not all gloom and doom, and give some important…

This monograph was written to help teachers, counselors, and parents who live and work with adolescents. It explains the psychological tasks of adolescence, separation from parents, and identity formation. Guidelines are provided for adolescent and parental development in several areas. An overview of regressive adaptation focuses on expressions…

Fifty-one 10- to 16-year-old siblings of mentally retarded children were given the Family Relations Test and Rotter's Incomplete Sentence Test. Results indicated family dynamics were influenced by parent reaction to the handicapped child. Compared to controls, the siblings showed idealization of the mentally handicapped child and more conflicts…