Maternal psychopathology and offspring mental health service utilization in adolescents without mental disorders: a national representative survey

Parenting and care: a complex role in the development of mental health

“…There are a significant number of studies showing that maternal mental disorders are linked with higher rates of disorders in children, with children's psychiatric risk being at least twofold compared to children whose parents have no history of mental disorders [7]. Parental mental disorder further significantly predicts mental health service utilization [14]. Information about familial transmission of mental disorders rightfully informs treatment decisions in child and adolescent psychiatry.…”

“…As clinical resources are sparse, predictors of overtreatment need to be identified and discussed. Indeed, in their study examining 2317 healthy children without any lifetime diagnosis of mental disorder, Stalujanis and colleagues (2019) report a significantly higher likelihood of service use in healthy children of mentally ill parents compared to offspring of parents without mental disorders [14]. According to these results, children of mentally ill parents may not only be treated for mental disorders, but also for subclinical symptomatology.…”