Using six waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (2007-2017) and the Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Study (2014) (N = 3,240), this paper estimates how childhood experiences with parental mental health problems shape trajectories of children’s distress in adulthood. Findings indicate that those who experience poor parental mental health have consistently greater distress than their non-exposed counterparts throughout adulthood. More severe and longer exposures to parental mental health problems correspond to even greater distress in adulthood. The gender of the parent afflicted does not predict differences in adult mental health, but those individuals exposed to both maternal and paternal poor mental health have the greatest distress in adulthood. Together, results suggest that parental mental health during children’s formative years is a significant predictor of life course distress and that heterogeneity in this experience corresponds to unique mental health trajectories.
AdkinsDaniel E.WangVictorDupreMatthew E.van den OordEdwin J. C. G.ElderGlen H.Jr.2009. “Structure and Stress: Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms across Adolescence and Young Adulthood.” Social Forces88(1):31-60.
2.
AllisonPaul. 2002. Missing Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
3.
AneshenselCarol S.2015. “Sociological Inquiry into Mental Health: The Legacy of Leonard I. Pearlin.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior56(2):166-78.
4.
AneshenselCarol S.AvisonWilliam R. 2015. “The Stress Process: An Appreciation of Leonard I. Pearlin.” Society and Mental Health5(2):67-85.
5.
AngeliniViolaKlijsBartSmidtNynkeMierauJochen O. 2016. “Associations between Childhood Parental Mental Health Difficulties and Depressive Symptoms in Late Adulthood: The Influence of Life-Course Socioeconomic, Health and Lifestyle Factors.” PLoS One11(12):e0167703.
6.
AvisonWilliam R.2010. “Incorporating Children’s Lives into a Life Course Perspective on Stress and Mental Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51(4):361-75.
7.
BrennanPatricia A.HammenConstanceAndersenMargaret J.BorWilliamNajmanJake M.WilliamsGail M. 2000. “Chronicity, Severity, and Timing of Maternal Depressive Symptoms: Relationships with Child Outcomes at Age 5.”Developmental Psychology36(6):759-66.
8.
BrewinChris R.AndrewsBerniceGotlibIan H. 1993. “Psychopathology and Early Experience: A Reappraisal of Retrospective Reports.”Psychological Bulletin113(1):82-98.
9.
ChenYingKubzanskyLaura D.VanderWeeleTyler J. 2019. “Parental Warmth and Flourishing in Mid-Life.”Social Science & Medicine220:65-72.
10.
ClarkePhilippaMarshallVictorHouseJamesLantzPaula. 2011. “The Social Structuring of Mental Health over the Adult Life Course: Advancing Theory in the Sociology of Aging.”Social Forces: A Scientific Medium of Social Study and Interpretation89(4):1287-313.
11.
ConnellArin M.GoodmanSherryl H. 2002. “The Association between Psychopathology in Fathers versus Mothers and Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems: A Meta-analysis.”Psychological Bulletin128(5):746-73.
12.
CoryellWilliamWinokurGeorgeMaserJack D.AkiskalHagop S.KellerMartin B.EndicottJean. 1994. “Recurrently Situational (Reactive) Depression: A Study of Course, Phenomenology and Familial Psychopathology.”Journal of Affective Disorders31(3):203-10.
13.
CummingsE. M.CheungRebecca Y. M.DaviesPatrick T. 2013. “Prospective Relations Between Parental Depression, Negative Expressiveness, Emotional Insecurity, and Children’s Internalizing Symptoms.”Child Psychiatry and Human Development44(6):698-708.
14.
CummingsE. M.KellerPeggy S.DaviesPatrick T. 2005. “Towards a Family Process Model of Maternal and Paternal Depressive Symptoms: Exploring Multiple Relations with Child and Family Functioning.”Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry46(5):479-89.
15.
CurranPatrick J.ObeidatKhawlaLosardoDiane. 2010. “Twelve Frequently Asked Questions about Growth Curve Modeling.”Journal of Cognition and Development: Official Journal of the Cognitive Development Society11(2):121-36.
16.
ElderGlen H.1998. “The Life Course as Developmental Theory.”Child Development69(1):1-12.
17.
ElgarFrank J.MillsRosemary S. L.McGrathPatrick J.WaschbuschDaniel A.BrownridgeDouglas A. 2007. “Maternal and Paternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Maladjustment: The Mediating Role of Parental Behavior.”Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology35(6):943-55.
18.
FerraroKenneth F.ShippeeTetyana Pylypiv. 2009. “Aging and Cumulative Inequality: How Does Inequality Get under the Skin?”The Gerontologist49(3):333-43.
19.
FerraroKenneth F.WilkinsonLindsay R. 2013. “Age, Aging, and Mental Health.” Pp. 183-203 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C.BiermanA. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
20.
FriedmanEsther M.MontezJennifer KarasSheehanConnor McDevittGuenewaldTara L.SeemanTeresa E. 2015. “Childhood Adversities and Adult Cardiometabolic Health: Does the Quantity, Timing, and Type of Adversity Matter?”Journal of Aging and Health27(8):1311-38.
21.
GeorgeLinda K.2013. “Life-Course Perspectives on Mental Health.” Pp. 585-602 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C.BiermanA. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
22.
GeorgeLinda K.2014. “Taking Time Seriously: A Call to Action in Mental Health Research.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior55(3):251-64.
23.
GoosbyBridget J.2013. “Early Life Course Pathways of Adult Depression and Chronic Pain.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior54(1):75-91.
24.
HammenConstanceBrennanPatricia A. 2003. “Severity, Chronicity, and Timing of Maternal Depression and Risk for Adolescent Offspring Diagnoses in a Community Sample.”Archives of General Psychiatry60(3):253-58.
25.
HaningtonLucyHeronJ.SteinA.RamchandaniP. 2012. “Parental Depression and Child Outcomes – Is Marital Conflict the Missing Link?”Child: Care, Health and Development38(4):520-29.
26.
HardtJochenRutterMichael. 2004. “Validity of Adult Retrospective Reports of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Review of the Evidence.”Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry45(2):260-73.
27.
KahnRobert S.BrandtDominiqueWhitakerRobert C. 2004. “Combined Effect of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Mental Health Symptoms on Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Well-Being.”Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine158(8):721-29.
28.
KesslerRonald C.BarkerPeggy R.ColpeLisa J.EpsteinJoan F.GfroererJoseph C.HiripiEvaHowesMary J.NormandSharon-Lise T.ManderscheidRonald W.WaltersEllen E.ZaslavskyAlan M. 2003. “Screening for Serious Mental Illness in the General Population.”Archives of General Psychiatry60(2):184-89.
29.
KuhDianaBen-ShlomoYoavLynchJ.HallqvistJ.PowerC. 2003. “Life Course Epidemiology.”Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health57(10):778.
30.
Kysar-MoonAshleigh. 2019. “Childhood Adversity and Internalizing Problems: Evidence of a Race Mental Health Paradox.”Society and Mental Health, DOI:215686931984332.
31.
LynchScott M.TaylorMiles G. 2016. “Chapter 2 - Trajectory Models for Aging Research.” Pp. 23-51 in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Eighth Edition, edited by GeorgeL. K.FerraroK. F. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
32.
MarsBeckyCollishawStephanSmithDanielThaparAjayPotterRobertSellersRuthHaroldGordon T.CraddockNicholasRiceFrancesThaparAnita. 2012. “Offspring of Parents with Recurrent Depression: Which Features of Parent Depression Index Risk for Offspring Psychopathology?”Journal of Affective Disorders136(1-2):44-53.
33.
McAdamsTom A.RijsdijkFruhling V.NeiderhiserJ. M.NarusyteJurgitaShawDaniel S.NatsuakiM. N.SpottsE. L., et al. 2015. “The Relationship between Parental Depressive Symptoms and Offspring Psychopathology: Evidence from a Children-of-Twins Study and an Adoption Study.”Psychological Medicine; Cambridge45(12):2583-94.
34.
McFarlandMichael J.2017. “Poverty and Problem Behaviors across the Early Life Course: The Role of Sensitive Period Exposure.”Population Research and Policy Review36(5):739-60.
35.
McGonagleKatherineFreedmanVicki A. 2015. “The Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Study (PSID-CRCS)User Guide: Final Release 1.” Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
36.
MeadowsSarah O.McLanahanSara S.Brooks-GunnJeanne. 2007. “Parental Depression and Anxiety and Early Childhood Behavior Problems across Family Types.”Journal of Marriage and Family; Minneapolis69(5):1162-77.
37.
MillerGregory E.ChenEdithParkerKaren J. 2011. “Psychological Stress in Childhood and Susceptibility to the Chronic Diseases of Aging: Moving toward a Model of Behavioral and Biological Mechanisms.”Psychological Bulletin137(6):959-97.
38.
MordochElaineHallWendy A. 2008. “Children’s Perceptions of Living with a Parent with a Mental Illness: Finding the Rhythm and Maintaining the Frame.”Qualitative Health Research18(8):1127-44.
39.
MoserRichardJacobTheodore. 1997. “Parent-Child Interactions and Child Outcomes as Related to Gender of Alcoholic Parent.”Journal of Substance Abuse9:189-208.
40.
MuthénBengt. 2004. “Latent Variable Analysis: Growth Mixture Modeling and Related Techniques for Longitudinal Data.” Pp. 346-69 in The SAGE Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences, edited by KaplanD. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
41.
NoonanKatharineBurnsRichéalViolatoMara. 2018. “Family Income, Maternal Psychological Distress and Child Socio-emotional Behaviour: Longitudinal Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.”SSM - Population Health4:280-90.
42.
OldehinkelAlbertine J.OrmelJohanVerhulstFrank C.NederhofEsther. 2014. “Childhood Adversities and Adolescent Depression: A Matter of Both Risk and Resilience.”Development and Psychopathology26(4 pt 1):1067-75.
43.
Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Study. 2014. Produced and distributed by the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
44.
Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Main Study Files. 2007-2017. Produced and distributed by the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
45.
PearlinLeonard I.2010. “The Life Course and the Stress Process: Some Conceptual Comparisons.”The Journals of Gerontology: Series B65B(2):207-15.
46.
RosenfieldSarahMouzonDawne. 2013. “Gender and Mental Health.” Pp. 277-96 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C.BiermanA. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
47.
SchaanBarbara. 2014. “The Interaction of Family Background and Personal Education on Depressive Symptoms in Later Life.”Social Science & Medicine102:94-102.
48.
SchaferMarkus H.FerraroKenneth F. 2013. “Childhood Misfortune and Adult Health: Enduring and Cascadic Effects on Somatic and Psychological Symptoms?”Journal of Aging and Health25(1):3-28.
49.
SchepmanKarenCollishawStephanGardnerFrancesMaughanBarbaraScottJacquelinePicklesAndrew. 2011. “Do Changes in Parent Mental Health Explain Trends in Youth Emotional Problems?”Social Science & Medicine73(2):293-300.
50.
SchillingElizabeth A.AseltineRobert H.GoreSusan. 2008. “The Impact of Cumulative Childhood Adversity on Young Adult Mental Health: Measures, Models, and Interpretations.”Social Science & Medicine66(5):1140-51.
51.
SchraedleyPamela K.TurnerR. JayGotlibIan H. 2002. “Stability of Retrospective Reports in Depression: Traumatic Events, Past Depressive Episodes, and Parental Psychopathology.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior43(3):307-16.
52.
SilbergJudyMaesHermineEavesLindon J. 2010. “Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Transmission of Parental Depression to Children’s Depression and Conduct Disturbance: An Extended Children of Twins Study.”The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry51(6):734-44.
53.
Simpson-AdkinsGraham JohnDaichesAnna. 2018. “How Do Children Make Sense of Their Parent’s Mental Health Difficulties: A Meta-synthesis.”Journal of Child and Family Studies27(9):2705-16.
54.
StambaughLeyla F.Forman-HoffmanValerieWilliamsJasonPembertonMichael R.RingeisenHeatherHeddenSarra L.BoseJonaki. 2017. “Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness among Parents in the United States: Results from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, 2008–2014.”Annals of Epidemiology27(3):222-24.
55.
StrohscheinLisaGauthierAnne H. 2018. “Poverty Dynamics, Parenting, and Child Mental Health in Canada.”Society and Mental Health8(3):231-47.
56.
TullyErin C.IaconoWilliam G.McGueMatt. 2008. “An Adoption Study of Parental Depression as an Environmental Liability for Adolescent Depression and Childhood Disruptive Disorders.”The American Journal of Psychiatry165(9):1148-54.
57.
UmbersonDebraCrosnoeRobertReczekCorinne. 2010. “Social Relationships and Health Behavior across the Life Course.”Annual Review of Sociology36:139-57.
58.
UmbersonDebraWilliamsKristiThomasPatricia A.LiuHuiThomeerMieke Beth. 2014. “Race, Gender, and Chains of Disadvantage: Childhood Adversity, Social Relationships, and Health.”Journal of Health & Social Behavior55(1):20-38.
59.
WilkinsonRenaeAnderssonMatthew A. 2019. “Adolescent Socioeconomic Status and Parent-Child Emotional Bonds: Reexamining Gender Differences in Mental Well-Being during Young Adulthood.”Society and Mental Health9(1):95-110.
60.
WilliamsDeadric T.CheadleJacob E. 2016. “Economic Hardship, Parents’ Depression, and Relationship Distress among Couples With Young Children.”Society and Mental Health6(2):73-89.
61.
WilsonSyliaDurbinC. Emily. 2010. “Effects of Paternal Depression on Fathers’ Parenting Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review.”Clinical Psychology Review30(2):167-80.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
