Abstract
Research suggests a link between parental divorce and negative child outcomes; however, the presence of parental depression
may confound this relationship. Studies exploring the simultaneous effects of depression and parents’ divorce on the adjustment
of their children are scarce and rarely have a longitudinal design. This is the first three-generation study of the relative
effects of depression and divorce on offspring psychopathology, based on data from a 25-year longitudinal study with families
at high and low risk for depression. One hundred seventy-eight grandchildren (mean age = 13.9 years) of depressed and nondepressed
parents and grandparents were evaluated by raters blind to their parents’ and grandparents’ clinical status. We found that
in both low and high-risk children, divorce had a limited impact on child adjustment over and above familial risk for depression.
Divorce had a significant effect on child outcomes only among high-risk grandchildren with a depressed grandparent and non-depressed
parents, with this group showing a threefold risk for anxiety disorders. Results support previous findings suggesting that
familial risk for depression largely overshadows the effect of parental divorce on child psychopathology. Possible reasons
for the lack of association between divorce and child psychopathology among low-risk offspring are discussed.
may confound this relationship. Studies exploring the simultaneous effects of depression and parents’ divorce on the adjustment
of their children are scarce and rarely have a longitudinal design. This is the first three-generation study of the relative
effects of depression and divorce on offspring psychopathology, based on data from a 25-year longitudinal study with families
at high and low risk for depression. One hundred seventy-eight grandchildren (mean age = 13.9 years) of depressed and nondepressed
parents and grandparents were evaluated by raters blind to their parents’ and grandparents’ clinical status. We found that
in both low and high-risk children, divorce had a limited impact on child adjustment over and above familial risk for depression.
Divorce had a significant effect on child outcomes only among high-risk grandchildren with a depressed grandparent and non-depressed
parents, with this group showing a threefold risk for anxiety disorders. Results support previous findings suggesting that
familial risk for depression largely overshadows the effect of parental divorce on child psychopathology. Possible reasons
for the lack of association between divorce and child psychopathology among low-risk offspring are discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-8
- DOI 10.1007/s10826-011-9523-7
- Authors
- Eleni Vousoura, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th street, BOX 102, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Helen Verdeli, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th street, BOX 102, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Virginia Warner, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Priya Wickramaratne, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Charles David Richard Baily, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th street, BOX 102, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Journal Journal of Child and Family Studies
- Online ISSN 1573-2843
- Print ISSN 1062-1024