Parental Bonding and Depressive Disorders in Adolescents

Abstract

The present exploratory study was designed to determine whether a sample of depressed adolescents differed from demographically similar samples of normal and non-depressed psychiatric controls as a function of their perceived patterns of parental bonding. All research participants were recruited from the general population. Diagnoses were based on a structured diagnostic interview keyed to DSM-III criteria. Parental bonding was assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument [PBI; Parker, G. Tupling, H. & Brown, L.B. (1979). A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1-10]. The results of this study suggest that parental bonding plays an important but non-specific role in the occurrence of adolescent psychopathology.

Role of Parenting and Maltreatment Histories in Unipolar and Bipolar Mood Disorders: Mediation by Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

“…Moreover, the four prospective studies conducted to date suggest that an "affectionless control" style of parenting temporally precedes depression and is independent of current depressive symptoms and thus, may act a risk factor for subsequent depression in offspring. Of the two dimensions comprising the "affectionless control" style, there is some consensus that care is more predictive for depression than is control (Burbach et al, 1989;Hall et al, 2004;Ingram et al, 2001;MacKinnon et al, 1993;OakleyBrown et al, 1995;Parker et al, 1995;Patton et al, 2001;Rey, 1995;Rojo-Moreno et al, 1999;Sato et al, 1998). There is also some evidence that the parenting style of the same-sex parent may be more predictive than the rearing of the opposite-sex parent (Gerlsma et al, 1990;Ge et al, 1994;Kerver et al, 1992;Koestner, Zuroff, & Powers, 1991;McGarvey et al, 1999;Zenmore & Rinholm, 1989; but see Lloyd & Miller, 1997 for contradictory evidence).…”

“…Considering studies conducted since 1990 as well as the earlier studies reviewed by Gerlsma et al (1990), overall the literature to date suggests that depressive symptoms and disorders are associated with low parental care and high control or overprotection. Further, there is some evidence that low care is more predictive for depression than is overcontrol (Burbach, Kashani, & Rosenberg, 1989;Hall, Peden, Rayens, & Beebe, 2004;Ingram, Overbey, & Fortier, 2001;MacKinnon, Henderson, & Andrews, 1993;Oakley-Brown, Joyce, Wells, Bushnell, & Hornblow, 1995;Parker, HadziPavlovic, Greenwald, & Weissman, 1995;Patton, Coffey, Posterino, Carlin, & Wolfe, 2001;Rey, 1995;Rojo-Moreno, Livianos-Aldana, Cervera-Martinez, & Dominguez-Carabantes, 1999;Sato et al, 1998). However, inasmuch as there are very few prospective studies in this area, it is difficult to clearly establish temporal precedence for "affectionless control" parenting relative to depression.…”

“…However, the other six studies have yielded less promising findings with respect to specificity. Two (Burbach et al, 1989;Parker et al, 1995) found that an "affectionless control" rearing style was associated with other psychopathology broadly and not just depression. Four other studies obtained associations between negative parenting and externalizing symptoms and disorders.…”

“…One study (Burbach et al, 1989) had negative findings for depression (although it did find an association between other psychiatric diagnoses and "affectionless control"), but others obtained significant associations between an "affectionless control" rearing style and diagnosed depression in the youth, with effect sizes ranging from small to large (Fendrich, Warner, & Weissman, 1990;Nilzon & Palmerus, 1997;Patton et al, 2001;Rey, 1995;Stein et al, 2000). Although Patton et al (2001) and Rey (1995) found that diagnosed depressed adolescents reported more "affectionless control" for both parents than did control adolescents, there was no effect of high parental control once the variance explained by low parental care had been considered.…”

Tracing the Roots of Early Sexual Debut Among Adolescents in Psychiatric Care

“…Parental hostile control represents a combination of affective (hostile) and instrumental (control) characteristics and is similar to construct of "affectionless control," operationalized as low parental care and high overprotection (Parker, 1979). Research associates affectionless control with childhood depression (Parker, 1983), aggression (Rey andPlapp, 1990), and general psychopathology (Burbach et al, 1989), but we are unaware of any studies linking affectionless control to sexual behavior. This study extends the potential negative health outcomes of parental affectionless control to early sexual debut and underscores the need for parental involvement in HIV prevention programs.…”