Relationship between parental psychopathology, parenting strategies and child mental health

Abstract

Background: Parental and child psychiatric disorders have been found to be associated, and this association can be mediated by other psychosocial variables, including parenting attitudes and strategies. As most previous studies included clinical samples, the purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between parental psychopathology and parenting strategies with child psychiatric disorders in a national survey population. Methods:The sample included 10,438 children of 5-15 years and their parents, from representative UK households. Families were assessed on child psychiatric diagnosis, parental psychopathology, family functioning, and socioeconomic status. Parenting strategies included using rewards, physical and non-physical punishments towards their child. Findings:Parental psychopathology scores (OR 3.99, 95% CI 3.13-5.09) and nonphysical punishment (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.27-1.76) were associated with child psychiatric disorders. This association was particularly prominent among children with conduct disorders: parental psychopathology scores (OR 3.13, 95% CI 2.28-4.30) and non-physical punishment (OR 3.19, 95% CI 2.55-3.97). Absence of child psychopathology was associated with a combination of rewarding and non-punitive parenting strategies. Conclusions:Although parents in the general population may be using less physical strategies than in the past, non-physical punishment is strongly related to mental health problems in children. Enhancement of positive parenting through universal and targeted interventions is an important preventive strategy.

Intergenerational Transmission of Stress in Humans

“…Even learning theory could explain why children exhibit behavior similar to their parents (Bandura, 1977). Furthermore, phenotypic changes in offspring can occur as a consequence of parental deficits, such as in child rearing (Vostanis et al, 2006). Moreover, many offspring report experiencing parental trauma vicariously or imagining the traumatic events that they know were experienced by their parents.…”

The mental health of Australian mothers and fathers of young children at risk of disability

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] As noted above, maternal mental health has been identified as a significant public health issue, [15][16][17]20 partly due to the association between maternal mental health and the well-being of children. 16,[18][19][20][21] The latter issue is particularly relevant to mothers supporting disabled children. Given that mental health problems among this group of mothers accounts for 23% of all maternal mental health morbidity, addressing the needs of this subgroup of mothers will also be key to achieving the wider objectives of maternal mental health promotion strategies.…”

Relationships between Social Anxiety and Mental Health Problems in Early Adolescents from Different Socioeconomic Groups: Results from a Cross-sectional Health Survey in Norway

“…The prevalence table also confirms only a small distinction between SES groups in the SDQ impact score. Only a few studies have utilized the impact score in their analysis [51,52]. It seems to be a tendency that Scandinavian adolescents report more symptoms than youth from most other countries [30], but less impact of the problems when compared with parent-reported data.…”