COMPETENCY IN CHILDREN AT RISK FOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the competencies of children of affectively ill parents compared with children of well parents, and to determine the kinds of strengths that coexist in children who are exhibiting psychosocial problems in middle and late childhood. Activity skills and interpersonal skills were studied. Preliminary analyses of children's strengths (high social and/or activity competence) and weaknesses (behavior problems above the normal range) showed strengths to be equally present among children of affectively ill and well parents, but weaknesses to be present almost exclusively in children of affectively ill parents. Among the children who had an unusually high behavior problem profile, some also had high social competence, while others had low to average social competence. Specific behavior problems will be examined in the children of affectively ill parents to determine whether the problems of children with high social competence differ from, and may be overcome more easily or ignored than, the problems of children with lower social competence.