Wellbeing and resilience: mechanisms of transmission of health and risk in parents with complex mental health problems and their offspring—The WARM Study

Harder, S. et al. (2015) Wellbeing and resilience: mechanisms of transmission of health and risk in parents with complex mental health problems and their offspring—The WARM Study. BMC Psychiatry, 15, 310. (doi: 10.1186/s12888-015-0692-6) (PMID:26654720) (PMCID:PMC4674908)

Abstract

The WARM study is a longitudinal cohort study following infants of mothers with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and control from pregnancy to infant 1 year of age. Background: Children of parents diagnosed with complex mental health problems including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, are at increased risk of developing mental health problems compared to the general population. Little is known regarding the early developmental trajectories of infants who are at ultra-high risk and in particular the balance of risk and protective factors expressed in the quality of early caregiver-interaction. Methods/Design: We are establishing a cohort of pregnant women with a lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and a non-psychiatric control group. Factors in the parents, the infant and the social environment will be evaluated at 1, 4, 16 and 52 weeks in terms of evolution of very early indicators of developmental risk and resilience focusing on three possible environmental transmission mechanisms: stress, maternal caregiver representation, and caregiver-infant interaction. Discussion: The study will provide data on very early risk developmental status and associated psychosocial risk factors, which will be important for developing targeted preventive interventions for infants of parents with severe mental disorder.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Minnis, Professor Helen and MacBeth, Mr Angus and Gumley, Professor Andrew and Lundy, Dr Jenna-Marie
• Authors: Harder, S., Davidsen, K., MacBeth, A., Lange, T., Minnis, H., Andersen, M. S., Simonsen, E., Lundy, J.-M., Nyström-Hansen, M., Trier, C. H., Røhder, K., and Gumley, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: BMC Psychiatry
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 1471-244X
• ISSN (Online): 1471-244X
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 Harder et al.
• First Published: First published in BMC Psychiatry 15:310
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a creative commons license