Parental Mental Health Problems and the Risk of Child Maltreatment: The Potential Role of Psychotherapy
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This conceptual paper expatiates on the potentially hazardous encounter a child may experience in the care of caregivers or parents having mental health problems. It also emphasizes EMT as a vital tool for addressing, in an integrated approach, such a hazardous familial context.
In my opinion, cohesive and coherent agreements exist between the title, contents, structure, goal, and conclusion of the paper. Thus, it seems the paper has succeeded in its purpose.
However, I think line 52 ought to express probability. So, why not use ‘may face’ instead of ‘present’? Similarly, lines 191-193 might be better understood if divided into two sentences. That is, ‘Other’ may begin the second sentence. Lastly, sections 2 & 3 seem not to be very different! Perhaps, this unclarity to me is from the titles.
Author Response
We are grateful for the reviewer's suggestions to improve the article.
We accept the reviewer's suggestion and in line 52 we have made the sentence less taxing and opted for an expression that refers to a possibility.
In lines 191-193, we believe that splitting the sentence, as suggested, obscures the intended meaning, so we prefer to keep it as is.
To clarify the distinction of sections 2 and 3: Section 2 aims to highlight, in general terms, the effects of victimization by exposure to an adverse phenomenon (such as a caregiver's mental illness) on a child's development. In section 3 we reinforce the preceding considerations, by specifically discussing the association that this factor may have for the effective danger of child maltreatment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear authors
I have read the manuscript with interest; it seems well written and structured. More is needed for child protection namely on his/her family’s risk factors. Saying this, I share with you a few comments and suggestions for your reflection and appreciation.
I would suggest you, describe methods review of literature, eventually in the introduction part.
In section 3, please add some examples of references when pointing out “in the literature that explores parental mental disorders in relation to child maltreatment, there are three aspects that emerge (…)”. The same in conclusions part, “several models are effective in reducing clinical symptoms”: identify some of these models for the reader.
State clearly how innovative is your study.
All the best.
Author Response
We thankful for the review and suggestions, which we have decided to accept and include in the article.
We explain in the text that "Based on the clinical, academic and research experience of the authors we produced an integrated review of international empirical studies exclusively on the problem in focus in this article, which had been produced and critically evaluated in the last two decades. The method used aimed to theoretically and scientifically substantiate our argument for the urgency of an interventional approach oriented towards the protection and well-being of children living in families with parental mental health problems".
In section 3, we add some examples of references that support the association between parental mental disorders and child maltreatment, in the topics explored.
As the conclusion is a reflection of the authors, we invite the reader to consult the references of the models specified in the article ("cf. particular references to the models suggested"), reinforcing their relevance to our innovative proposal that is currently being tested and for which we intend to arouse the interest of readers.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Thank you for the opportunity to review the paper.
As a conceptual/traditional review paper, it provides the basic necessary information that connects the variables under study. It reasobly discusses parental mental health as a risk factor for child psychological development and the role a psychotherapy can play.
The introduction provides overview of child risk factors around the globe, the relationship between parental mental health and child abuse/maltreatment.
Various factors associated with parental mental health risk were discussed including, personality disorders, lack of adequate treatment and drug/alcohol use.
Finally the role of psychotherapy in mediating those risks was identified.
Recommendation:
Consider sketching a framework using a simple diagram (figure) that shows the connection between parent mental health risks, child maltreatment and the potential for pychotherapy. That could provide a quick summary of the key variaboes under study and pave way for further studies in the field.
Regards
Author Response
We thank you for the review and comments on the paper. As suggested, we have developed a diagram to summarize our approach to the problem and the proposal presented.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
