Scott A. Baldwin and Dr. John P. Hoffmann, Sociology

Depression is a common ailment in the United States, affecting approximately 10% of men and 20% of women during their lifetimes.1 Moreover, there is evidence that among adolescents rates of depression have increased over the past two to three decades.2 Studies have identified parental depression as a potential risk factor for depression among adolescents.3 Indeed, a longitudinal study by Weismann and colleagues found that the offspring of depressed parents were at high risk for major depressive disorder and other psychopathology.4

There has been very little longitudinal research on the relationship between parental psychopathology and adolescent depression. The longitudinal research that has been done is limited because most of the researchers did not delineate any risk factors in addition to parental psychopathology. It is likely that parental psychopathology per se does not put adolescents at risk for depression, but instead creates a context in which children are at risk for depression.

The purpose of the present study was to longitudinally examine the relationship between parental psychopathology (parental affective disorder and parental substance abuse) and initial onset of depression. I hypothesized that both parental affective disorder and parental substance abuse would be significant predictors of onset. Additionally, I hypothesized that stressful life events, self-esteem, and family cohesion would all moderate the relationship between parental psychopathology and adolescent depression.

Seven years of data from the Family Health Study were used. All parents were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R.5,6 The results were used to place families into the following categories: parental substance use disorder (n=214 adolescents and 238 parents), parental affective disorder (n=181 adolescents and 194 parents), and a comparison group (i.e., neither parent diagnosed with a mental disorder; n=382 adolescents and 438 parents). The children in these families age 18 or older were administered a computer-assisted version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1, which provides diagnoses consistent with the DSM-IV and the International Classification of Diseases.7,8 Lifetime diagnoses according to DSM-IV criteria were derived from depressive disorders.

The results of the event-history analyses suggested that of the parental diagnoses, only parental affective disorder was a significant predictor of onset of depression. Additionally, the adolescent’s level of self-esteem also significantly predicted onset of depression. Interestingly, self-esteem, stressful life events, and family cohesion all did not significantly interact with parental affective disorder. This suggests that they did not moderate the relationship between parental affective disorder and onset of depression.

Overall, the results are consistent with previous research that suggests that parental psychopathology, particularly parental affective disorder, is a risk factor for depression among adolescents. Contrary to the hypotheses, the relationship between parental affective disorder and onset of adolescent depression is not moderated by self-esteem, stressful life events, or family cohesion. This finding is at odds with the notion that parental psychopathology creates other risk factors (e.g. low self-esteem, high stress, and low family cohesion), which increase the probability of depression. However, those adolescents who had a low self-esteem, regardless of their parent’s mental health, had a higher probability of becoming depressed than those adolescents with high self-esteem.

References

1. Hirschfeld, R. M. A., & Cross, C. K. (1982). Epidemiology of affective disorders: psychosocial risk factors. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 35-46.
2. Achenbach, T. M, & Howell, C. T. (1993). Are American children’s problems getting worse? A 13-year comparison. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 1145-1154.
3. Downy, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50-76.
4. Weissman, M. M., Warner, V., Wickramarantne, P., Moreau, D., & Oflson, M. (1997). Offspring of depressed parents: 10 years later. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 932-940.
5. Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbons, M., & First, M. B. (1990). Structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R—Patient Edition (with psychotic screen)—SCID-P. Version 1.0. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
6. Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbons, M., & First, M. B. (1990). Structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R—Nonpatient Edition—SCID-P. Version 1.0. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
7. World Health Organization (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
8. World Health Organization (1993). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders: Diagnostic criteria for research. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.