Summary: A new long-term study confirms that children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder face a higher risk of developing mental health issues compared to peers without parental psychiatric diagnoses. Over four years, researchers tracked 238 children and found distinct patterns of symptoms depending on whether a parent had schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Children of those with schizophrenia were more likely to show attention deficits, disruptive behaviors, and subclinical psychotic traits, while those with bipolar-affected parents showed more mood-related symptoms and subclinical bipolar signs. Protective factors such as strong parental functioning and higher socioeconomic status reduced the likelihood of problems, pointing to the importance of early monitoring and support.
Key Facts:
- Higher Risk: Children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are more vulnerable to mental health issues.
- Symptom Patterns: Schizophrenia is linked to attention and psychotic symptoms; bipolar disorder to mood symptoms.
- Protective Factors: Better family functioning and socioeconomic support reduce risk in high-risk children.
Source: University of Barcelona
A new study confirms that children of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to children whose parents do not have these conditions.
The study, published in the journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, examines how the clinical and social characteristics of parents influence the mental health of their offspring.
“The study confirms this increased risk and helps to better understand what factors influence mental health problems patients’ children”, says Josefina Castro Fornieles, coordinator of the study and researcher in the Mental Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERSAM), at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, Hospital Clínic and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). The study has been carried out in collaboration with the team of the researcher Dolores Moreno, from the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid.
Experts followed the children of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder for four years, comparing them with a control group of parents without these pathologies. The study included 238 children (aged 6-17), who were assessed at the beginning and end of this period.
The researchers analysed variables such as parents’ and children’s psychiatric diagnoses, family socioeconomic status, parents’ age at childbirth and the presence of subclinical symptoms related to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
“In addition, symptom patterns vary according to parental diagnosis”, says Elena de la Serna, CIBERSAM researcher at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and first author of the article.
“The study reveals that children of people with schizophrenia have a higher risk of attention deficit disorder, disruptive disorders and subclinical psychotic symptoms. In the case of bipolar disorder, children of affected patients show a higher prevalence of mood disorders, attention deficit disorder and subclinical bipolar symptoms”.
The study also highlights factors that can mitigate this risk. Thus, better parental psychosocial functioning and higher socioeconomic status are associated with a lower presence of mental health problems in children, underlining the relevance of family and social interventions.
This study, which is part of the BASYS (Bipolar and Schizophrenia Young Offspring Study) project, reinforces the importance of long-term follow-up of children of patients with severe mental illness and raises the need for preventive strategies in these high-risk populations.
“Although studies with larger samples are needed, this one contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of vulnerability to mental disorders in childhood and adolescence”, the team concludes.
About this mental health and neurodevelopment research news
Author: Rosa Martínez
Source: University of Barcelona
Contact: Rosa Martínez – University of Barcelona
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Effects of parental characteristics on the risk of psychopathology in offspring: a 4-year follow-up study” by Josefina Castro Fornieles et al. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Abstract
Effects of parental characteristics on the risk of psychopathology in offspring: a 4-year follow-up study
Offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZoff) or bipolar disorder (BDoff) have double the risk of developing a psychiatric disorder.
Here we report the effects of some parental characteristics on the offspring risk of psychopathology at 4-year follow-up. At baseline, 90 BDoff, 41 SZoff and 107 Community Control offspring (CCoff) aged 6 to 17 were included.
At 4-year follow-up, 71% of the sample was assessed. Parents’ and offspring’s psychiatric diagnoses as well as socio-economic status (SES) and global functioning were assessed in addition to parents’ ages at childbirth and offspring subclinical psychotic/bipolar symptoms.
Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used to assess between-group differences in the cumulative incidence of psychiatric disorders and subclinical psychotic/bipolar symptoms and the association of some offspring and parents’ variables with risk of psychopathology and subclinical psychotic/bipolar symptoms. SZoff and BDoff had a higher risk of psychopathology than CCoff at 4-year follow-up.
SZoff showed a higher risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive disorders and subclinical psychotic symptoms, whereas BDoff displayed a heightened risk for mood disorders, ADHD and subclinical bipolar symptoms when compared to CCoff.
Higher parental psychosocial functioning and SES were associated with a lower prevalence of psychopathology. Both SZoff and BDoff samples have a higher risk for psychopathology but the pattern of this psychopathology seems to be group specific.
Longer follow-up studies and larger sample sizes are needed to assess the capacity of psychopathological disorder and subclinical psychotic or bipolar symptoms to predict progression to fully-fledged disorders.
