Assessment of Children At-Risk for Mental Illness

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Risk Factors
Protective Factors
Resilience Factors
Comorbidity and Its Role in Diagnosis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

In healthcare, when working with patients, assessment entails the methodical gathering of pertinent data. It is used to address two categories of practical issues: distinguishing between common issues or momentary troubles and clinically relevant psychiatric problems and categorizing and treating those who have been diagnosed with disorders. Clinical evaluations typically start with a particular concern, issue, or difficulty and most often involve DSM-5 assessments (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). Among the most apparent challenges when it comes to the assessment of children and adolescents at-risk for mental illness is a lack of attention to risk factors and comorbidity. Therefore, when assessing children for mental health issues, a healthcare professional must have an awareness of social, individual, and family risk factors and comorbidity.

Risk Factors

Among the steps to evaluating the patient’s condition is to consider risk factors since many symptoms of mental health disorders might be the result of external and internal factors. Individual, familial, and social instances are most frequently used to distinguish between various risk factor categories. Individual risk factors in children and adolescents involve variables including heredity, physiological functions, gender, attitude, and character (Parritz & Troy, 2017). Family risk factors are those that are connected to the child’s caregiving climate and include parental traits (Parritz & Troy, 2017). These involve the involvement of psychiatric disorders or strict, punitive parenting practices, in addition to family traits involving ongoing disputes between parents, an absence of oversight, or unusual disharmony among family members (Parritz & Troy, 2017). Finally, social risk factors are those that are connected to a child’s broader context, such as classmates, schools, community, and socioeconomic group, as well as racial and cultural features (Parritz & Troy, 2017). For instance, when it comes to peers and schools, healthcare professionals must focus on academic excellence and assistance, extracurricular activities, and peer dynamics, including bullying, exclusion, and harmful influence (Parritz & Troy, 2017). In terms of socioeconomic considerations, they are particularly worried about the ways that poverty jeopardizes the well-being of children.

Protective Factors

As for protective factors, they must be considered along with the risk factors. Parents who have substance abuse issues or who have mental illnesses, contribute to child mistreatment and abuse, and provide insufficient control are risk factors in relationships. Parental engagement is an illustration of a protective factor in this situation (SAMHSA, 2019). Then, risk factors in communities involve localized poverty and violence. The presence of faith-based services and after-school programs might be considered protective factors in this case (SAMHSA, 2019). Lastly, risk factors in society might include discrimination, a lack of economic opportunities, and regulations and practices that support drug use (SAMHSA, 2019). Hate crime legislation or alcohol availability restrictions are examples of protective factors in this situation.

Resilience Factors

Resilience factors are those elements that help children and adolescents maintain psychological and physiological health despite high risks. Active coping, mental flexibility, and social protection all contribute to resilience in some way (Walker, 2019). Active coping is the capacity to use psychological as well as behavioral tools to deal with trauma or pressures, which is a continuously acquired skill (Walker, 2019). Together with active coping, mental flexibility contributes to the growth and maintenance of resilience’s capacity to tolerate adversity. Social protection is the final component that affects the structure and operation of resilience (Walker, 2019). As it enables the child to respond positively when faced with difficulties or dangers, the social context in which the person lives has a significant influence on resilience.

Comorbidity and Its Role in Diagnosis

Finally, the coexistence of two or more illnesses in one person is referred to as comorbidity within classifications or groupings of disorders. In this case, a child may be coping with any two conditions (Parritz & Troy, 2017). This means that healthcare professionals must search for two ailments that are commonly noticed together instead of two different conditions. Comorbidity can happen for a number of causes (Parritz & Troy, 2017). Not all children will fit neatly into clearly defined categories because every classification promotes group commonalities over individual differences (Parritz & Troy, 2017). These children’s clinical profiles may combine symptoms from many diseases.

Medical professionals must choose which categorization area best fits the clinical presentation after assessing the severity, regularity, persistence, and pattern of issues in a developmental context. The role of comorbidity in diagnosis is crucial since an expert must take into account several factors. This involves understanding whether a child’s clinical manifestations represent a single instance of disease, an unusual or mixed-symptom case, or a mixture of comorbid disorders while selecting the appropriate group (Parritz & Troy, 2017). While using the DSM-5 categorization, therapists may need to choose between two mutually incompatible categories of psychopathology.

Conclusion

Hence, a healthcare provider must be aware of societal, individual, and familial risk factors as well as comorbidity while evaluating children for mental health concerns. Risk factors are taken into account as one of the phases in evaluating the patient’s state since many symptoms of mental health problems may be brought on by both internal and external sources. Most typically, cases from the individual, family, and societal realms are employed to differentiate across different risk factor groups. Protective factors must be taken into account with risk factors. Children and adolescents who are exposed to high risks can retain their physical and psychological health due to resilience characteristics. Lastly, within categories or groups of disorders, the coexistence of two or more illnesses in one person is referred to as comorbidity.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). DSM-5 parent/guardian-rated level 1 cross-cutting symptom measure—child age 6–17. Web.

Parritz, R. H., & Troy, M. F. (2017). Disorders of childhood: Development and psychopathology. Cengage Learning.

SAMHSA. (2019). Risk and protective factors. Web.

Walker, S. (2019). Supporting troubled young people: A practical guide to helping with mental health problems. Critical Publishing.

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