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Raised by Depressed Parents: Is it an Environmental Risk?

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Abstract

The mechanisms explaining how parental depression compromises healthy child development are complex and multifaceted, with genetic and environmental pathways intertwined. Reexamination of whether and how maternal and paternal depression serve as environmental risk factors is important because such an investigation can be helpful to identify modifiable mechanisms that are accessible to interventions. We review studies that have employed designs that isolate the effects of the environment from genetic influences, including adoption studies and children of twins studies. Findings indicate that maternal depression is an environmental risk factor for the emotional, behavioral, and neurobiological development of children. Although more studies are needed, preliminary findings suggest that paternal depression appears to be a weaker environmental risk as compared to maternal depression, at least during infancy and toddlerhood. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by R01 HD042608 from NICHD, NIDA, and OBSSR, NIH, U.S. PHS (PI Years 1–5: David Reiss; PI Years 6–10: Leslie Leve); R01 DA020585 from NIDA, NIMH and OBSSR, NIH, U.S. PHS (PI: Jenae Neiderhiser); and R01 MH092118 (PIs: Jenae Neiderhiser and Leslie Leve) from NIMH. Additional support for the writing of this report was provided by P50 DA035763, NIDA, U.S. PHS (PIs: Chamberlain & Fisher). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. We would like to thank the birth parents and adoptive families who participated in this study and the adoption agencies who helped with the recruitment of study participants. We gratefully acknowledge Rand Conger and Laura Scaramella who contributed to the larger study. Special gratitude is given to Remi Cadoret, Beverly Fagot, and John Reid who were centrally involved in this work prior to their deaths. We are also grateful for Danielle Samuels for her contribution to an early version of this report. Finally, we hold sincere and deep respect and admiration for the contributions of our late colleague Xiaojia Ge to this project. Dr. Ge was a close and long-time collaborator on the Early Growth and Development Study. His contributions to this study are substantial, and we will long feel the loss of our colleague.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Misaki N. Natsuaki

  2. University of Pittsburgh, 210 S. Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Daniel S. Shaw

  3. The Pennsylvania State University, 411 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Jenae M. Neiderhiser

  4. George Washington University, 2125 G Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Jody M. Ganiban

  5. Rudd Centre for Adoption Research and Practice, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

    Gordon T. Harold

  6. Yale University, PO Box 207900, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    David Reiss

  7. University of Oregon, 6217 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Leslie D. Leve

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  1. Misaki N. Natsuaki
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  2. Daniel S. Shaw
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Correspondence to Misaki N. Natsuaki.

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Natsuaki, M.N., Shaw, D.S., Neiderhiser, J.M. et al. Raised by Depressed Parents: Is it an Environmental Risk?. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 17, 357–367 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-014-0169-z

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