Offspring of Depressed Parents: 20 Years Later
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was a 20-year follow-up of offspring of depressed and nondepressed parents to determine the magnitude and continuity of the risk of parental depression to the offspring. METHOD: The authors followed 151 offspring of moderately to severely depressed parents or nonpsychiatrically ill comparison subjects for about 20 years, to a mean age of 35 years. Four interviews and diagnostic assessments from childhood or adolescence to adulthood were conducted by assessors blind to the parents' clinical status or the offspring's previous history. Final best-estimate diagnoses were also made by blinded psychologists or psychiatrists. RESULTS: The risks for anxiety disorders, major depression, and substance dependence were approximately three times as high in the offspring of depressed parents as in the offspring of nondepressed parents. Social impairment was also greater. The period of highest incidence for major depressive disorder remained between ages 15 and 20 years, largely in females. The early onset of disorder seen in the high-risk group was not offset by a later onset in the low-risk group as they matured. Higher rates of medical problems and mortality in the offspring of depressed parents were beginning to emerge as the offspring entered middle age. CONCLUSIONS: The offspring of depressed parents constitute a high-risk group for psychiatric and medical problems, which begin early and continue through adulthood. Early detection seems warranted.
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Untreated PPD seems to have negative consequences for both infants and mothers.
“Untreated PPD seems to have negative consequences for both infants and mothers.”
From Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes (2019) · cites this paper as [16]
Nonsystematic reviews have indicated that the risks to children of untreated depressed mothers, compared to mothers without PPD, include poor cognitive functioning, behavioral inhibition, emotional maladjustment, violent behavior, externalizing disorders, and psychiatric and medical disorders in adolescence.
“Nonsystematic reviews have indicated that the risks to children of untreated depressed mothers (compared to mothers without PPD) include problems such as poor cognitive functioning, behavioral inhibition, emotional maladjustment, violent behavior, externalizing disorders, and psychiatric and medical disorders in adolescence.5,10–17”
From Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes (2019) · cites this paper as [16]
The cumulative effect of multiple common alleles of small effect or rare pathogenic variants, interacting with environmental risk factors, increases risk for mental disorders.
“The cumulative effect of multiple common alleles of small effect or the relatively high impact of rare pathogenic variants, in interaction with environmental risk factors, increases the risk for development of mental disorders.8”
From Preventive strategies for mental health (2018) · cites this paper as [8]
Most environmental risk factors for mental disorders have small effect sizes and increase susceptibility but are not sufficient to explain disorder occurrence.
“Although some rare environmental risk factors might have large effect sizes, most environmental risk factors are characterized by small effect sizes and seem to increase susceptibility but are not sufficient to explain the occurrence of a disorder.8”
From Preventive strategies for mental health (2018) · cites this paper as [8]
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- Authors
- Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Nomura, Y., Warner, V., Pilowsky, D., & Verdeli, H.
- Affiliations
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2006-06
- Volume
- 163
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1001-1008
- ISSN
- 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
- 1535-7228
- OpenAlex
- W3022013151
- Cited by
- 1,059
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 85 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 65 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 56
- FWCI
- 52.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH036197)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Family Support in Illness
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Keywords
- parental depression, offspring of depressed parents, intergenerational transmission of depression, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, substance dependence, social dysfunction, early-onset depression, long-term follow-up, mortality, health problems, high-risk groups, early detection
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Child, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mortality, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Comorbidity, Incidence, Prevalence, Child of Impaired Parents, Age of Onset, Substance-Related Disorders
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