Intactness of the Home and Behavioural Problems in Children

Referral problems for children in out-patient psychiatric clinics were compared for intact homes and for broken homes in which parents were widowed, divorced, separated, unmarried or "other". All varieties of broken homes were over-represented in the clinic population compared to the general population; intact homes were under-represented. Type of home was significantly differentiated by four referral problems: anxiety and neurotic symptoms, aggression, anti-social behaviour, and problems of habit formation. The evidence suggests that the broken home should not be treated as a unitary concept.