Children living with a parent who has a mental illness: a critical analysis of the literature and research implications.

This article provides an analysis and assessment of the literature that deals with children of a parent who has a mental illness. It argues that children's perspectives about living with a parent who has a mental illness have not been taken into consideration. A survey of the literature indicates that it can be divided into sections that include: the family context of the child, risks associated with the child's stage of growth and development, characteristics associated with resilience, and existing interventions. In general, research studies have examined factors that are associated with the presence or absence of children's pathology and have relied on researchers' normative judgments to denote narrow views of pathology, and diagnostic and behavioral measures. The article will propose a program of research that addresses the issues raised in our analysis. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.