Family dysfunction, stressful life events, and mental health problems across development in the offspring of parents with an affective disorder

Abstract

Background

Offspring of parents with affective disorders (OAD) are at risk of developing a wide range of mental disorders. Deficits in the rearing environment and high levels of stress are well-known risk factors for negative outcomes in OAD. Building on prior research, we aim to examine the longitudinal relationships between family dysfunction, stressful life events, and mental health in OAD and control offspring of parents with no affective disorder. In the present study, we hypothesized that high levels of family dysfunction would be associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems across time in OAD than in controls, and that family dysfunction would mediate the relationship between stressful life events in adolescence and poor mental health in adulthood, particularly in OAD.

Methods

As part of the TRacking Adolescents' Lives Survey (TRAILS), 2230 participants (51% female, M_age = 11.1 years, SD = 0.6, at baseline) and their parents completed measures across six time points, spanning 15 years. Mental health, family dysfunction, and stressful life events were assessed with the Youth and Adult Self-Report, Family Assessment Device, and an in-house measure, respectively.

Results

Multi-group structured equation modeling revealed that family dysfunction was linked to internalizing and externalizing problems in OAD, but not controls, across time. Risk status did not moderate family dysfunction's mediation of the relationship between stressful life events and negative outcomes in adulthood.

Conclusions

OAD show high sensitivity to dysfunction in the rearing environment across childhood and adolescence, which supports the use of family based interventions to prevent the development of mental disorders in high-risk youth.