TITLE:
Risk Factor “Mentally Ill Mother”: Transgenerational Transmission of Mental Disorders in Children until Emerging Adulthood
AUTHORS:
Aline Debener, Eddy J. Rother, Ann-Katrin Job
KEYWORDS:
Mental Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Transgenerational Transmission, Emerging Adulthood
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.15 No.2,
February
29,
2024
ABSTRACT:
Background: Children of mentally ill parents are at an increased
risk of developing mental disorders themselves. Whether this risk is
consistently higher or varies from childhood until emerging adulthood, and
which specific mental disorders children of mentally ill parents are
susceptible to, has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Method: A sample of N = 216 mother-child dyads with children
in emerging adulthood (M = 22.2 years) who participated in a longitudinal
prevention study (18-year follow-up) were assessed using a half-structured
clinical interview on mental disorders including current and lifetime
diagnoses. Survival analyses were employed to examine whether the risk factor
“mentally ill mother” is associated with a consistently higher (vs.
time-varying) risk of mental disorders in children regarding any mental
disorder, depressive, and anxiety disorders. Results: The risk
factor “mentally ill mother” was associated with a consistently increased risk for children to
develop a mental disorder (OR = 1.49), but not with an increased risk for
depressive (OR = 1.35) or anxiety disorders (OR = 1.05). Maternal depressive
disorders were not associated with an increased risk for child mental disorders
(OR = 1.00 to 1.26). Maternal anxiety disorders were associated with a
consistently increased risk for children to develop any mental health disorder
(OR = 1.93) and anxiety disorders specifically (OR = 1.88). Conclusions: The risk associated with
a mentally ill mother seems to be constant throughout childhood, adolescence,
and emerging adulthood. Maternal anxiety disorders particularly increase the
risk for child psychopathology. Further research on the temporal progression of
this particular risk factor until emerging adulthood is needed, including a
wider range of disorder domains.