Risk factors for parental psychopathology: a study in families with children or adolescents with psychopathology

• Main Authors: Bartels, M. (Author), Bögels, S.M (Author), Dieleman, G.C (Author), Hudziak, J.J (Author), Lindauer, R.J.L (Author), Middeldorp, C.M (Author), van Steensel, F.J.A (Author), Wesseldijk, L.W (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag GmbH and Co. KG 2018
• Subjects: adolescent; Adolescent; adolescent disease; adult; Adult; antisocial behavior; antisocial personality disorder; Antisocial Personality Disorder; anxiety disorder; Article; attention deficit disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; autism; avoidant personality disorder; child; Child; child of impaired parents; Child of Impaired Parents; child parent relation; childhood disease; Childhood psychopathology; depression; Depressive Disorder; educational status; employment; Family circumstances; family size; father; female; Female; human; Humans; major clinical study; male; Male; mental disease; Mental Disorders; mental health center; mother; Netherlands; outpatient department; parental age; Parental psychopathology; Parent-Child Relations; Parent–offspring associations; Parents; progeny; psychiatric diagnosis; psychology; Psychopathology; risk factor; Risk factors; Risk Factors; self report; Self Report; Socioeconomic Factors; socioeconomics; statistics and numerical data; unemployment
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 The parents of children with psychopathology are at increased risk for psychiatric symptoms. To investigate which parents are mostly at risk, we assessed in a clinical sample of families with children with psychopathology, whether parental symptom scores can be predicted by offspring psychiatric diagnoses and other child, parent and family characteristics. Parental depressive, anxiety, avoidant personality, attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD), and antisocial personality symptoms were measured with the Adult Self Report in 1805 mothers and 1361 fathers of 1866 children with a psychiatric diagnosis as assessed in a child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinic. In a multivariate model, including all parental symptom scores as outcome variables, all offspring psychiatric diagnoses, offspring comorbidity and age, parental age, parental educational attainment, employment, and relationship status were simultaneously tested as predictors. Both 35.7% of mothers and 32.8% of fathers scored (sub)clinical for at least one symptom domain, mainly depressive symptoms, ADHD symptoms or, only in fathers, avoidant personality symptoms. Parental psychiatric symptoms were predicted by unemployment. Parental depressive and ADHD symptoms were further predicted by offspring depression and offspring ADHD, respectively, as well as by not living together with the other parent. Finally, parental avoidant personality symptoms were also predicted by offspring autism spectrum disorders. In families with children referred to child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics, parental symptom scores are associated with adverse circumstances and with similar psychopathology in their offspring. This signifies, without implying causality, that some families are particularly vulnerable, with multiple family members affected and living in adverse circumstances. © 2018, The Author(s).