Psychosocial problems in children of women entering substance use disorder treatment: A longitudinal study.

Background: While parental substance use disorder (SUD) has been recognized as a risk factor for child outcomes, past research seldom focused specifically on children whose mothers suffer from alcohol and drug use disorders. Are these children at risk for elevated psychosocial problems, and would such risk be reduced if maternal substance use was reduced?

Aims: Children of substance-abusing mothers (COSAM, N=130) were compared to a demographically matched comparison sample, and examined soon after their mothers entered SUD treatment and in the 18months after treatment entry. We expected to observe elevated symptomatology among COSAM at baseline assessment, followed by a decreasing trend after maternal treatment in general, and remission in particular.

The molecular genetics of schizophrenia: an emerging consensus.

Schizophrenia is perhaps the most debilitating mental disease and determining the underlying cause has become a challenging area of psychiatric research. It is relatively well established that genes play a role in the aetiology of schizophrenia. In this article, a review of important findings related to schizophrenia as a genetic trait will be provided, including a discussion of family, twin and adoption studies.