Risk of Depression in the Offspring of Parents with Depression: The Role of Emotion Regulation, Cognitive Style, Parenting and Life Events

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Abstract

Children of depressed parents are at heightened risk for developing depression, yet relatively little is known about the specific mechanisms responsible. Since preventive interventions for this risk group show small effects which diminish overtime, it is crucial to uncover the key risk factors for depression. This study compared various potential mechanisms in children of depressed (high-risk; n = 74) versus non-depressed (low-risk; n = 37) parents and explored mediators of parental depression and risk in offspring. A German sample of N = 111 boys and girls aged 8 to 17 years were compared regarding children’s (i) symptoms of depression and general psychopathology, (ii) emotion regulation strategies, (iii) attributional style, (iv) perceived parenting style and (v) life events. Children in the high-risk group showed significantly more symptoms of depression and general psychopathology, less adaptive emotion regulation strategies, fewer positive life events and fewer positive parenting strategies in comparison with the low-risk group. Group differences in positive and negative attributional style were small and not statistically significant in a MANOVA test. Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and negative life events were identified as partial mediators of the association between parental depression and children’s risk of depression. The study highlights the elevated risk of depression in children of depressed parents and provides empirical support for existing models of the mechanisms underlying transmission. Interestingly, the high-risk group was characterised by a lack of protective rather than increased vulnerability factors. These results are crucial for developing more effective preventive interventions for this high-risk population.

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Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis.

Robert Sullivan, K Kendler, Benjamin M. Neale (2000)

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of relevant data from primary studies of the genetic epidemiology of major depression. The authors searched MEDLINE and the reference lists of previous review articles to identify relevant primary studies. On the basis of a review of family, adoption, and twin studies that met specific inclusion criteria, the authors derived quantitative summary statistics. Five family studies met the inclusion criteria. The odds ratios for proband (subjects with major depression or comparison subjects) versus first-degree relative status (affected or unaffected with major depression) were homogeneous across the five studies (Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio=2.84, 95% CI=2.31-3.49). No adoption study met the inclusion criteria, but the results of two of the three reports were consistent with genetic influences on liability to major depression. Five twin studies met the inclusion criteria, and their statistical summation suggested that familial aggregation was due to additive genetic effects (point estimate of heritability of liability=37%, 95% CI=31%-42%), with a minimal contribution of environmental effects common to siblings (point estimate=0%, 95% CI=0%-5%), and substantial individual-specific environmental effects/measurement error (point estimate=63%, 95% CI=58%-67%). The literature suggests that recurrence best predicts the familial aggregation of major depression. Major depression is a familial disorder, and its familiality mostly or entirely results from genetic influences. Environmental influences specific to an individual are also etiologically significant. Major depression is a complex disorder that does not result from either genetic or environmental influences alone but rather from both. These findings are notably consistent across samples and methods and are likely to be generally applicable.

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When are adaptive strategies most predictive of psychopathology?

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Amelia Aldao (2012)

In recent work, we showed that putatively adaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as reappraisal and acceptance, have a weaker association with psychopathology than putatively maladaptive strategies, such as rumination, suppression, and avoidance (e.g., Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2010; Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schweizer, 2010). In this investigation, we examined the interaction between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in the prediction of psychopathology symptoms (depression, anxiety, and alcohol problems) concurrently and prospectively. We assessed trait emotion regulation and psychopathology symptoms in a sample of community residents at Time 1 (N = 1,317) and then reassessed psychopathology at Time 2 (N = 1,132). Cross-sectionally, we found that the relationship between adaptive strategies and psychopathology symptoms was moderated by levels of maladaptive strategies: adaptive strategies had a negative association with psychopathology symptoms only at high levels of maladaptive strategies. In contrast, adaptive strategies showed no prospective relationship to psychopathology symptoms either alone or in interaction with maladaptive strategies. We discuss the implications of this investigation for future work on the contextual factors surrounding the deployment of emotion regulation strategies. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

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Maternal depression and comorbidity: predicting early parenting, attachment security, and toddler social-emotional problems and competencies.

William C Little, Dee Carter, M Gowan … (2000)

To examine relations between maternal depression (in pure and comorbid forms) and mother-infant interactions, infant attachment, and toddler social-emotional problems and competencies. A second objective was to explore sex differences. Sixty-nine mother-infant dyads were followed from pregnancy to 30 months postpartum. Depression was measured at multiple times with self-report and interview assessments. Play was assessed at 4 months and attachment status at 14 months postpartum. At 30 months, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist and Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Lifetime maternal depression predicted less optimal mother-infant interactions and insecure infant attachment. However, this "depression effect" was accounted for by mothers with comorbid diagnoses, who had less optimal interactions, and infants with higher rates of insecurity than either mothers with depression only or mothers with no psychopathology. Prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms were associated with problem behaviors and lower competencies for boys. In contrast, quality of early interactions predicted problem behaviors in girls. It is important to examine the context of maternal depression with respect to additional psychopathology and environmental risks. Maternal depression in the presence of other psychopathology confers risk to the mother-child dyad. Consistent with previous work, risk pathways appear to differ for boys and girls. Early identification and prevention efforts are warranted.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Johanna Loechner:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2886-9253

johanna.loechner@psy.lmu.de

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

Title: Child Psychiatry and Human Development

Publisher: Springer US (New York )

ISSN (Print): 0009-398X

ISSN (Electronic): 1573-3327

Publication date (Electronic): 5 November 2019

Publication date PMC-release: 5 November 2019

Publication date (Print): 2020

Volume: 51

Issue: 2

Pages: 294-309

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.5252.0, ISNI 0000 0004 1936 973X, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, , Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, ; Nussbaumstraße 5a, 80336 Munich, Germany

[2 ]GRID grid.5252.0, ISNI 0000 0004 1936 973X, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, , Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, ; Leopoldstraße 13, 80303 Munich, Germany

[3 ]GRID grid.7177.6, ISNI 0000000084992262, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, , University of Amsterdam, ; Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Johanna Loechner http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2886-9253

Article

Publisher ID: 930

DOI: 10.1007/s10578-019-00930-4

PMC ID: 7067707

PubMed ID: 31691071

SO-VID: ba9c47b7-1305-4bef-9a1d-652cd3b50b1a

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Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Funded by: gesund.leben.bayern

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: depression,offspring of parents with depression,transmission of depression,risk factors,development of depression,mediation,prevention

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: depression, offspring of parents with depression, transmission of depression, risk factors, development of depression, mediation, prevention

Risk of Depression in the Offspring of Parents with Depression: The Role of Emotion Regulation, Cognitive Style, Parenting and Life Events

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Most cited references 56

Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis.

When are adaptive strategies most predictive of psychopathology?

Maternal depression and comorbidity: predicting early parenting, attachment security, and toddler social-emotional problems and competencies.

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