Adolescent offspring of endogenous unipolar depressive parents and of normal parents.

Ninety-six children aged 10-17 of unipolar endogenous depressive proband parents and 96 matched control children of well parents were investigated using DSM-IIIR diagnostic criteria. Both sets of parents were also studied. Although the rate of psychopathology was significantly higher in proband than in control children, adaptive functioning as a measure of the severity of the psychopathology did not differentiate the two groups of children. Among factors related to the mental status of the children were: severity and onset under 30 years of age of the parental depression and lifelong association of parental anxiety with depression. Personality measurements performed in children showed different personality structures in proband offspring. Data on adolescent psychopathology and personality showed little evidence of a homotypic relationship with the adult affective disorders.