The Relative Impact of Maternal and Paternal Depression History on Externalizing Behaviors and Psychopathology Susceptibility in Children

Yansong Lu

doi:10.54097/5g73v632

Authors

Yansong Lu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/5g73v632

Keywords:

Parental Depression, Intergenerational Transmission, Propensity Score Matching, P-factor

Abstract

Adolescent depression is a major global public health issue, closely linked to familial risk. To elucidate the intergenerational transmission of depression, this study utilized baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study in the United States. Employing propensity score matching to control for confounders, we quantified the impact of parental depression history on behavioral problems and susceptibility to mental disorders (p-factor) in children aged 9-11. Results from the successfully matched sample showed that both maternal and paternal depression histories significantly increased adolescents' externalizing behavioral problems and general susceptibility to mental disorders. Notably, the average effect size for maternal depression history (Cohen's d = 35.56%) was significantly greater than that for paternal history (20.95%). This indicates that the influence of familial depression history is broad, extending beyond depressive symptoms to elevate overall vulnerability to various mental health problems. This study quantified the differential effects of maternal versus paternal depression history on adolescent mental health and specified their respective effect sizes on the general psychopathology factor (p-factor) in adolescents.

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