Examining the transmission of common mental health difficulties from parents to offspring and opportunities for prevention
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Children of parents with mental health disorders (MHD) are at increased risk of developing MHD. Pathways of intergenerational transmission are split into genetics, environmental and social pathways, such as altered parenting behaviours. Interventions aimed at environmental pathways of intergenerational transmission for parents with a range of severe MHD have shown small effects in favour of improved mental health outcomes for children. The systematic review and meta-analysis presented here, synthesises findings from 18 randomised controlled trials of interventions within the community for parents with a common MHD. Meta-analyses of parent’s common mental health outcomes showed medium and large effects for parental depression and anxiety respectively, that remained at short term follow up. However, a limitation of this systematic review, and the parental mental health field more broadly, is that the sample of parents was largely female. A narrative synthesis of children’s outcomes showed moderate to large effect sizes of group and individual interventions. This provides clinicians with a clearer understanding of the efficacy of community-based treatments for parents with common MHD. The empirical research builds on the systematic findings by focusing on paternal anxiety. Specifically, the timing of paternal perinatal anxiety and the associated developmental trajectories of children’s internalising and externalising symptoms up to 13 years, was investigated. Interestingly, paternal anxiety that was present across the perinatal period were associated with elevated children’s internalising trajectories but not externalising trajectories. This contributes to our understanding of risk factors that contribute to children’s development of mental health difficulties and highlights the importance of inclusive research to support clinicians to identify at risk populations and provide preventative healthcare.
Author: Shepherd, Charlotte
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214645684