A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet studied how mental health problems run in families. Using nationwide Swedish registers, the researchers followed millions of parents and their children over decades, revealing several important findings about how and why mental health problems pass from parents to children, and importantly, how to interrupt this cycle.
In her studies, Mengping Zhou , PhD student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics , focused on what it means for families and society. She found that mental health problems can echo across generations, but that they are not inevitable. Strengthening the overall family environment - by treating parents' mental health problems, supporting positive parenting, and reducing household stress - may help break the cycle.
What are the most important results in your thesis?
"First, most children are resilient. Among children whose parents had psychiatric conditions, 80 percent were never diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder by middle adulthood. This finding offers hope to worried parents and shows that having a parent with mental problems does not automatically mean that your child will too. Second, we saw that vulnerability is broad, not specific. In other words, a general susceptibility to psychological distress and behavioral problems is transmitted from parents to offspring, rather than a risk of one specific condition. Third, the transmission seems attributable to both nature and nurture. Although shared genes and familial environment explain much of the observed parent-child associations, the rearing environment also matters."
Why did you become interested in this topic?
"Mental health problems are common and often cluster within families. Children growing up in these families can be affected not only in their mental health, but also in their behaviour, education, and social functioning. Understanding why this happens and how we can break these cycles motivated me to focus my research on this topic."
What do you think should be done in future research?
"My studies indicate that by strengthening the family environment-through treatment of parental mental health, support for positive parenting, and reduction of household stress- the cycle can be interrupted. I would like to see further studies to look into the importance of early intervention and family-focused support in mental health care."
