Researchers found a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty compared to children in poverty had parents in poor or fair health or mental health, experienced frequent parenting stress, and
perceived a lack of social support and security in their neighborhood.
Interpersonal family stress contributes to relationship breakdown and
lack of perceived social support, and high expressed emotion may contribute to relapse.21 Family - focused treatment has been shown to reduce recurrence when used as an adjunct to medication for bipolar disorder.38 It is initiated once stabilisation
of mood has been effected after an acute episode, and includes the patient and at least one significant family member (eg, parent or spouse).39 The underlying focus
of family - focused treatment is to provide education regarding the recent illness episode; this includes exploring possible causes and the patient's personal triggers, discussing the importance
of medication, differentiating between the person and the illness, and enhancing positive family relationships.40 Improved positive communication appears to be a key mechanism in this approach.38, 41 Recent studies suggest greater benefits in reducing depressive rather than manic relapses.23, 38,42