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The problem of adults with severe mental illness parenting minor children is a growing concern. These clients suffer from concerns that negatively affect them and their children. This study showed many clients seeking services at public mental health agencies are parents of minor children and have had a history of family dysfunction. Prevalence rates, demographic characteristics, types of mental illness diagnoses, family background variables, and some current issues regarding these clients were examined. The study concludes with clinical implications for clients and their families and calls for a family focused approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This article attempts to document the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among elders in a rural village in Nepal. In addition, we investigate the relationship between psychiatric illness and functional disability to assess the impact of disorder on social functioning. Method: A semistructured interview checklist to diagnose six disorders was used (N = 182). In addition, elders older than age 60 were examined to assess the functional impact of mental health conditions by measuring functional disability. Results: Eighteen percent of elders seem to have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. Furthermore, in general these elders were also less likely to receive assistance with the disabilities they report, compared with those who do not experience a psychiatric disorder. Discussion: Documenting the extent of psychiatric disorder among elders in developing societies sensitizes health planners to the growing reality of aging in their societies and the need for expanded physical and psychiatric health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is growing recognition of the importance of mental health problems in developing countries. In large part, however, we have very limited epidemiological data at national and/or community levels about the prevalence of mental illnesses. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to describe the reliability and validity characteristics of an assessment tool that may be useful for conducting community-level surveys (particularly in rural communities of developing countries) to obtain prevalence rates of mental illnesses. Methods: We used a sample of adults residing in a rural village in Nepal to assess disorders with a modified version of the DSM-III-R Checklist. We evaluated construct validity, scale reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Results: There is strong evidence for the construct validity of generalized anxiety and depression in our sample. By contrast, the symptoms associated with mania and schizophrenia were not empirically distinct. Convergent validity is acceptable. As a test of validity characteristics, the pattern of sociodemographic correlations suggests that the specific social origins of disorder in Nepal will require further investigation. Conclusion: The first step in obtaining high quality information on the distribution of mental illness in developing countries is to establish some reliable and valid indicators of disorder. The checklist format for assessing disorder appears to meet this objective and offers the possibility that community-level prevalence studies can be reasonably conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]