The Relationship Between Parental Psychopathology and Adolescent Psychopathology

Abstract

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.