The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between parental psychopathology (specifically, alcohol dependence and depression) and adolescent psychopathology, by the gender of the adolescent and the gender of the parent.The sample included 426 13- to 17-year-old adolescents and their parents. All participants were administered the SemiStructured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism to obtain clinical psychiatric diagnoses. Paternal psychopathology (depression and alcohol dependence) significantly predicted adolescent alcohol dependence, whereas maternal psychopathology did not. Maternal alcohol dependence did not predict any of the adolescent psychiatric diagnoses. In contrast, both paternal depression and maternal depression significantly predicted adolescent conduct disorder and depression. In addition, maternal depression significantly predicted adolescent anxiety.No significant interactions between parental psychopathology and adolescent gender were observed. Nevertheless, results from this study underscore the importance of considering the gender of the parent when examining the relationship between parental psychopathology and psychopathology in the offspring.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aguinis, H., & Stone-Romero, E.F. (1997). Methodological artifacts in moderated multiple regression and their effects on statistical power. TheJournal of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 192—206.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
4.
Begleiter, H., Reich, T., Hesselbrock, V., Porjesz, B., Li, T.K., Schuckit, M.A., et al. (1995). The collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism. Alcohol Health and Research World, 19, 228—236.
5.
Bucholz, K.K., Cadoret, R., Cloninger, C.R., Dinwiddie, S.H., Hesselbrock, V.M., Nurnburger, J.I., et al. (1994). A new semistructured psychiatric interview for use in genetic linkage studies: A report on the reliability of the SSAGA . Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55, 149—158.
6.
Chassin, L., Pitts, S.C., DeLucia, C., & Todd, M. (1999). A longitudinal study of children of alcoholics: Predicting young adult substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(1), 106—119.
7.
Chassin, L., Pitts, S.C., & Prost, J. (2002). Binge drinking trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a high-risk sample: Predictors and substance abuse outcomes . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(1), 67—78.
8.
Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Kasen, S., Velez, C.N., Hartmark, C., Johnson, J., et al. (1993). An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence: Age- and gender-specific prevalence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines , 34, 851—867.
9.
Connolly, G.M., Casswell, S., Stewart, J., Silva, P.A., & O'Brien, M.K. (1993). The effect of parents' alcohol problems on children's behaviour as reported by parents and by teachers . Addiction (Abingdon, England), 88, 1383—1390.
10.
Crawford, T.N., Cohen, P., Midlarsky, E., & Brook, J.S. (2001). Internalizing symptoms in adolescents: Gender differences in vulnerability to parental distress and discord. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(1), 95—118.
11.
Davies, P.T., & Windle, M. (1997). Gender-specific pathways between maternal depressive symptoms, family discord, and adolescent adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 33(4), 657—668.
12.
Downey, G., & Coyne, J.C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin,108, 50—76.
13.
Fagot, B.I. (1995). Parenting boys and girls. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (pp. 163—184). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum .
14.
Feighner, J.P., Robins, E., Guze, S.B., Woodruff, R.A., Jr. , Winokur, G., et al. (1972). Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry , 26, 57—63.
15.
Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, L.J., & Lynskey, M.T. (1995). Maternal depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 36, 1161—1178.
16.
Fergusson, D.M., & Lynskey, M.T. (1993). The effects of maternal depression on child, conduct disorder and attention deficit behaviors. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 28, 116—123.
17.
Gilligan, C. (1983). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
Gore, S., Aseltine, R.H., & Colten, M.E. (1993). Gender, social-relational involvement, and depression . Journal of Research on Adolescence, 3, 101—125.
19.
Gore, S., & Colten, M.E. (1991). Gender, stress and distress: Social-relational influences. In J. Eckenrode (Ed.), The social context of coping (pp. 139—164). New York : Plenum Press.
20.
Hesselbrock, M.N., Easton, C., Bucholz, K.K., Schuckit, M., & Hesselbrock, V. (1999). A validity study of the SSAGA: A comparison with the SCAN. Addiction, 94, 1361—1370.
21.
Holmbeck, G.N., Paikoff, R.L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1995). Parenting adolescents . In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (pp. 91—118). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
22.
Hops, H. (1992). Parental depression and child behavior problems: Implications for behavioral family intervention. Behavior Change, 9(3), 126—138.
23.
Hops, H. (1995). Age- and gender-specific effects of parental depression: A commentary. Developmental Psychology, 31(3), 428—431.
24.
Hops, H. (1996). Intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms: Gender and developmental considerations. In C. Mundt & M. J. Goldstein (Eds.), Interpersonal factors in the origin and course of affective disorders (pp. 113—129). London: Gaskell /Royal College of Psychiatrists.
25.
Jacobson, K.C., & Rowe, D.C. (1999). Genetic and environmental influences on the relationship between family connectedness, school connectedness, and adolescent depressed mood: Sex differences. Developmental Psychology, 35(4), 926—939.
26.
Johnson, S.L., & Jacob, T. (2000). Moderators of child outcomes in families with depressed mothers and fathers. In S. L. Johnson , A. M. Hayes, T. M. Field, N. Schneiderman , & P. M. McGabe (Eds.), Stress, coping, and depression (pp. 51—67). Mahwah, NJ : Erlbaum.
27.
Kashani, J.H., Orvaschel, H., Rosenberg, T.K., & Reid, J.C. (1989). Psychopathology in a community sample of children and adolescents: A developmental perspective. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 701—706.
28.
Kessler, R.C., Avenevoli, S., & Merikangas, K.R. (2001). Mood disorders in children and adolescents: An epidemiologic perspective. BiologicalPsychiatry, 49(12), 1002—1014.
29.
Kuperman, S., Schlosser, S.S., Kramer, J.R., Bucholz, K., Hesselbrock, V., Reich, T., & Reich, W. (2001). Developmental sequence from disruptive behavior diagnosis to adolescent alcohol dependence. American Journal of Psychiatry,158(12), 2022—2026.
30.
Kuperman, S., Schlosser, S.S., Lidral, J., & Reich, W. (1999). Relationship of child psychopathology to parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(6), 686—692.
31.
Lerner, R.M. (2002). Adolescence: Development, diversity, context, and application. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
32.
Lewinsohn, P.M., Clarke, G.N., Seeley, J.R., & Rohde, P. (1994). Major depression in community adolescents: Age at onset, episode duration, and time to recurrence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(6), 809—818.
33.
Loukas, A., Fitzgerald, H.E., Zucker, R.A., & von Eye, A. (2001). Parental alcoholism and co-occurring antisocial behavior: Prospective relationships to externalizing behavior problems in their young sons. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(2), 91—106.
34.
Luthar, S.S., Merikangas, K.R., & Rounsaville, B.J. (1993). Parental psychopathology and disorders in offspring: A study of relatives of drug abusers. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181(6), 351—357.
35.
Moss, H.B., Baron, D.A., Hardie, T.L., & Vanyukov, M.M. (2001). Preadolescent children of substance-dependent fathers with antisocial personality disorder: Psychiatric disorders and problem behaviors. The American Journal onAddictions, 10, 269—278.
36.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1994). An integrative model for the emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Journal of Reseearch onAdolescence, 4, 519—534.
37.
O'Malley, P.M., Johnston, L.D., & Bachman, J.G. (1998). Alcohol use among adolescents. Alcohol Health and Research World, 22(2), 85—93.
38.
Pederson, W. (1994). Parental relations, mental health, and delinquency in adolescents. Adolescence, 29, 975—990.
39.
Phares, V. (1992). Where's Poppa? The relative lack of attention to the role of fathers in child and adolescent psychopathology. The American Psychologist, 47, 656—664.
40.
Phares, V., & Compas, V.E. (1992). The role of fathers in child and adolescent psychopathology: Make room for Daddy. Psychological Bulletin,111, 387—412.
41.
Prescott, C.A. (2002). Sex differences in the genetic risk for alcoholism. Alcohol Research &Health, 26(4), 264—273.
42.
Radke-Yarrow, M., Zahn-Waxler, C., Richardson, A., Susman, A., & Martinez, P. (1994). Caring behavior in children of clinically depressed and well mothers. Child Development, 65, 1405—1414.
43.
Reich, W., Earls, F., Frankel, O., & Shayka, J.J. (1993). Psychopathology in children of alcoholics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 32, 995—1002.
44.
Schuckit, M.A., Daeppen, J., Tipp, J.E., Hesselbrock, M., & Bucholz, K.K. (1998). The clinical course of alcohol-related problems in alcohol dependent and nonalcohol dependent drinking women and men. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 59(5), 581—590.
45.
Schuckit, M.A. (2000). Genetics of the risk for alcoholism. The American Journal onAddictions, 9(2), 103—112.
46.
Steinberg, L. (2000). Adolescent development. Annual Review ofPsychology, 52, 83—110.
47.
Walters, G.D. (2002). The heritability of alcohol abuse and dependence: A meta-analysis of behavior genetic research. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(3), 557—584.
