Family Discord, Parental Depression, and Psychopathology in Offspring: Ten-Year Follow-up

• NCJ Number: 194472
• Journal: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 402-409
• Author(s): Yoko Nomura Ph.D.; Priya J. Wickramaratne Ph.D.; Virginia Warner M.P.H; Laura Mufson Ph.D.; Myrna M. Weissman Ph.D.
• Date Published: April 2002
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH36197
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper investigates the relationship between parental depression, family discord, and offspring psychopathology in the same sample of offspring who were followed over a 10-year period.

Abstract

The paper addresses four questions: (1) does parental major depressive disorder (MDD) increase the risk of family discord; (2) does parental depression or family discord increase the risk of psychopathology in offspring; (3) does the effect of family discord on offspring psychopathology vary by parental major depression; and (4) what is the relative importance of parental depression and family discord for psychopathology in offspring? The study found that parental depression was more important than family discord for predicting MDD and anxiety disorder in offspring, whereas family discord was more important than parental depression for predicting substance use disorder in offspring. This is consistent with a 1990 model which hypothesized that parental MDD primarily and family discord indirectly (because of its association with parental depression) elevated the risk of internalizing problems such as MDD, whereas family discord primarily and parental MDD indirectly (because of its association with family discord) elevated the risk of externalizing problems such as conduct disorder and substance abuse disorder. Tables, references