Correlates of parental distress and competence in a child psychiatric population

Parents of children referred to a child mental health clinic were assessed by questionnaire for demoralization, coping ability and perception of their children's behaviour problems and social competence. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the extent of parental distress in the clinic population and its influence on the child's behaviour problems. In the group studied, 30% of parents reported significant distress, but no simple correlation between parent distress and child pathology was observed. However, a high correlation was found between parent coping ability and child competence (with a strong gender effect), and competence value as a clinical parameter is discussed.