Andrea L Roberts1, Ying Chen1, Natalie Slopen2, Katie A McLaughlin3, Karestan C Koenen4, Sydney Bryn Austin1,5. 1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. 4. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York. 5. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intergenerational effects of child abuse have been documented, but it is unknown whether maternal childhood abuse influences offspring mental health in adolescence or adulthood. METHODS: To examine whether maternal experience of childhood abuse is associated with depressive symptoms in adolescent and young adult offspring, we linked data from two large longitudinal cohorts of women (N = 8,882) and their offspring (N = 11,402), and we examined three possible pathways by which maternal experience of abuse might be associated with offspring depressive symptoms: maternal mental health, family characteristics, and offspring's own experience of abuse. RESULTS: Offspring of women who experienced severe versus no childhood abuse had greater likelihood of high depressive symptoms (RR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.47, 2.16) and persistent high depressive symptoms (RR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.37, 4.44). Maternal mental health accounted for 20.9% and offspring's exposure to abuse accounted for 30.3% of the elevated risk of high depressive symptoms. Disparities in offspring depressive symptoms by maternal abuse exposure were evident at age 12 years and persisted through age 31 years. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide evidence that childhood abuse adversely affects the mental health of the victim's offspring well into adulthood. As offspring exposure to abuse and maternal mental health accounted for more than 50% of the elevated risk of high depressive symptoms among offspring of women who experienced abuse, improving maternal mental health and parenting practices may reduce offspring risk for depressive symptoms in these families.
BACKGROUND: Intergenerational effects of child abuse have been documented, but it is unknown whether maternal childhood abuse influences offspring mental health in adolescence or adulthood. METHODS: To examine whether maternal experience of childhood abuse is associated with depressive symptoms in adolescent and young adult offspring, we linked data from two large longitudinal cohorts of women (N = 8,882) and their offspring (N = 11,402), and we examined three possible pathways by which maternal experience of abuse might be associated with offspring depressive symptoms: maternal mental health, family characteristics, and offspring's own experience of abuse. RESULTS: Offspring of women who experienced severe versus no childhood abuse had greater likelihood of high depressive symptoms (RR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.47, 2.16) and persistent high depressive symptoms (RR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.37, 4.44). Maternal mental health accounted for 20.9% and offspring's exposure to abuse accounted for 30.3% of the elevated risk of high depressive symptoms. Disparities in offspring depressive symptoms by maternal abuse exposure were evident at age 12 years and persisted through age 31 years. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide evidence that childhood abuse adversely affects the mental health of the victim's offspring well into adulthood. As offspring exposure to abuse and maternal mental health accounted for more than 50% of the elevated risk of high depressive symptoms among offspring of women who experienced abuse, improving maternal mental health and parenting practices may reduce offspring risk for depressive symptoms in these families.
Authors: Maria A Oquendo; Steven P Ellis; Megan S Chesin; Boris Birmaher; Jamie Zelazny; Adrienne Tin; Nadine Melhem; Ainsley K Burke; David Kolko; Laurence Greenhill; Barbara Stanley; Beth S Brodsky; J John Mann; David A Brent Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2013-08-05 Impact factor: 6.744
Authors: D P Bernstein; L Fink; L Handelsman; J Foote; M Lovejoy; K Wenzel; E Sapareto; J Ruggiero Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 1994-08 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Nadine M Melhem; David A Brent; Melissa Ziegler; Satish Iyengar; David Kolko; Maria Oquendo; Boris Birmaher; Ainsley Burke; Jamie Zelazny; Barbara Stanley; J John Mann Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2007-09 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Andrea L Roberts; Kristen Lyall; Janet W Rich-Edwards; Alberto Ascherio; Marc G Weisskopf Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2013-05 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Carla P Bezold; Rachel F Banay; Brent A Coull; Jaime E Hart; Peter James; Laura D Kubzansky; Stacey A Missmer; Francine Laden Journal: Ann Epidemiol Date: 2018-02-02 Impact factor: 3.797
Authors: Philipp Toepfer; Kieran J O'Donnell; Sonja Entringer; Christine M Heim; David T S Lin; Julia L MacIsaac; Michael S Kobor; Michael J Meaney; Nadine Provençal; Elisabeth B Binder; Pathik D Wadhwa; Claudia Buss Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2019-03-09 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: Meghan Gallo; Daniel G Shleifer; Livea D Godoy; Dayshalis Ofray; Aliyah Olaniyan; Talia Campbell; Kevin G Bath Journal: Front Behav Neurosci Date: 2019-07-25 Impact factor: 3.558
Authors: Shakira F Suglia; Danielle M Crookes; Robert Kaplan; Daniela Sotres-Alvarez; Maria M Llabre; Linda Van Horn; Mercedes R Carnethon; Carmen R Isasi Journal: J Psychosom Res Date: 2020-02-05 Impact factor: 3.006
Authors: Andrea L Roberts; Nicole Gladish; Evan Gatev; Meaghan J Jones; Ying Chen; Julia L MacIsaac; Shelley S Tworoger; S Bryn Austin; Cigdem Tanrikut; Jorge E Chavarro; Andrea A Baccarelli; Michael S Kobor Journal: Transl Psychiatry Date: 2018-10-02 Impact factor: 6.222