Study of the Psychological Development of Children of Parents With and Without Affective Disorders

Affective Disorders and Affective Development: A Study of Child Rearing and Child Development in Normal Families and Families With Affective Disorders

This research study is the continuation of a study started more than 20 years ago. The study was designed to explore the effect that depressed parents have on their children and to better understand the factors that contribute to depression development and maintenance. The study will continue to investigate if children have certain characteristics in early and middle childhood that predict the later development of psychological disorders. In addition, the study will continue looking at the processes responsible for the development of children of parents with and without affective (mood) disorders.

The psychological development of offspring of parents with and without affective disorder is assessed from early childhood to young adulthood. Parents with a diagnosis of major depression or bipolar illness and well parents and their children are studied (SADS-L, RDC, and SCID, DSM-III). A sibling pair is studied in each family. Parent-child interaction is investigated through direct observation of behavior in naturalistic and controlled settings. Family history information is obtained through parent interviews. Behavioral observations, standard tests, physical examinations, and psychiatric interviews, and MRI procedures provide multiple assessments of the offspring. The study has been completed through preadolescence, adolescence, and late adolescence. Follow-up in young adulthood continues.

Parental Psychopathology, Child Rearing, Depression, Bipolar Affective Disorders, Manic-Depression, Social-Emotional Development, Cognitive Development, Child Psychopathology, Affective Disorder, Children at Risk

Patients will be drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study begun in 1979 of offspring of parents with affective illness (unipolar and bipolar) and children of normal control parents.

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Labella MH, Ruiz SK, Harris SJ, Klimes-Dougan B. Emotion socialization in mothers with mood disorders: Affective modeling and recollected responses to childhood emotion. Dev Psychopathol. 2021 Oct;33(4):1156-1169. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420000395.

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