Genetic epidemiology in child psychiatric nursing. Tourette's Syndrome as a model.

Recent discoveries in the field of molecular biology and increased attention to genetic epidemiology have stimulated renewed interest in the genetics of psychiatric disorders. Tourette's syndrome, a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and phonic tics, is used as a model to describe the research strategies employed in the genetic epidemiology of child psychiatric disorders. The relevance of genetic research findings to child psychiatric nursing is also discussed.