Views about treatment among parents of adolescents who received electroconvulsive therapy.

The study assessed the experience, knowledge, and attitudes of parents of adolescents who had been treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) about that treatment. Twenty-eight parents were interviewed. Overall, their opinions about ECT were favorable. Seventeen of 28 parents thought that ECT had been helpful. If ECT was recommended by a doctor, the vast majority of parents would support a decision for their child to have the treatment again and would advise others to consider it.