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Do changes in parent mental health explain trends in youth emotional problems?

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  • Schepman, Karen
  • Collishaw, Stephan
  • Gardner, Frances
  • Maughan, Barbara
  • Scott, Jacqueline
  • Pickles, Andrew

Abstract

There is evidence of a long-term rise in the prevalence of adolescent emotional problems in the UK and in other countries. The aim of this study was to test whether time trends in parents' emotional difficulties contributed to these increases using data from two national surveys of English teenagers and parents studied twenty years apart (1986 and 2006). The 1986 sample is the age 16 follow-up of the 1970 British Cohort Study (NÂ =Â 4524 adolescents, NÂ =Â 7169 parents). The 2006 sample included 16/17-year-olds and their parents drawn from the 2002 and 2003 Health Surveys for England (NÂ =Â 711). Both studies used identical self-complete questionnaire assessments of adolescent (GHQ-12 and Malaise Inventory) and parent (Malaise) symptoms of depression and anxiety. Follow-up data on emotional problems and psychiatric service use at age 30 years (NÂ =Â 2785) for adolescents in the first cohort was used to validate the role of parent emotional problems as risk factors for offspring mental health. We found that maternal emotional problems increased across all socio-demographic groups between 1986 and 2006, mirroring increases in adolescent emotional problems over this period. They were cross-sectionally and prospectively associated with adolescent emotional problems. Cohort differences in adolescent emotional problems were attenuated when accounting for the increase in maternal emotional problems. Rising rates of maternal emotional problems have likely contributed to, but do not fully explain, recent time trends in adolescent emotional problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Schepman, Karen & Collishaw, Stephan & Gardner, Frances & Maughan, Barbara & Scott, Jacqueline & Pickles, Andrew, 2011. "Do changes in parent mental health explain trends in youth emotional problems?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 293-300, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:2:p:293-300
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sweeting, Helen & West, Patrick & Young, Robert & Der, Geoff, 2010. "Can we explain increases in young people's psychological distress over time?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1819-1830, November.
    2. Mohler, B. & Earls, F., 2001. "Trends in adolescent suicide: Misclassification bias?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(1), pages 150-153.
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    1. Kyriaki Kosidou & Clara Hellner-Gumpert & Peeter Fredlund & Christina Dalman & Johan Hallqvist & Göran Isacsson & Cecilia Magnusson, 2012. "Immigration, Transition into Adult Life and Social Adversity in Relation to Psychological Distress and Suicide Attempts among Young Adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(10), pages 1-8, October.
    2. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2011. "Evidence on the Long Shadow of Poor Mental Health across Three Generations," IZA Discussion Papers 6014, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Renuka Mahadevan & Sha Fan, 2021. "Differential Effects of Parents’ Education on Adolescent Well-being Outcomes," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2495-2516, December.
    4. Mendolia, Silvia & McNamee, Paul & Yerokhin, Oleg, 2018. "The Transmission of Mental Health within Households: Does One Partner's Mental Health Influence the Other Partner's Life Satisfaction?," IZA Discussion Papers 11431, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2013. "Exploring the intergenerational persistence of mental health: Evidence from three generations," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1077-1089.
    6. Cui, Ying & Liu, Hong & Zhao, Liqiu, 2019. "Mother's education and child development: Evidence from the compulsory school reform in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 669-692.
    7. Paul McNamee & Silvia Mendolia & Oleg Yerokhin, 2021. "The transmission of partner mental health to individual life satisfaction: Estimates from a longitudinal household survey," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 494-516, September.
    8. Alba Oliver-Parra & Albert Dalmau-Bueno & Dolores Ruiz-Muñoz & Anna García-Altés, 2020. "Relationship between parents’ mental disorders and socioeconomic status and offspring’s psychopathology: A cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, October.
    9. Zheng, Xiaodong & Shangguan, Shuangyue & Fang, Zuyi & Fang, Xiangming, 2021. "Early-life exposure to parental mental distress and adulthood depression among middle-aged and elderly Chinese," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    10. Anne Nolan & Smyth, Emer, 2021. "Risk and protective factors for mental health and wellbeing in childhood and adolescence," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS120.

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