Anxiety in the family: a genetically informed analysis of transactional associations between mother, father and child anxiety symptoms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Anxiety in parents is associated with anxiety in offspring, although little is known about the mechanisms underpinning these intergenerational associations. We conducted the first genetically sensitive study to simultaneously examine the effects of mother, father and child anxiety symptoms on each other over time.

Method

Adoptive parent and child symptoms were measured at child ages 6, 7 and 8 years from 305 families involved in the Early Growth and Development Study, using a prospective adoption design. Children were adopted at birth to nonrelatives, and composite data on internalising problems within birth families were used as a proxy measure of offspring inherited risk for anxiety. Structural equation models were fitted to the data to examine prospective assoc

SUBMITTER: Ahmadzadeh YI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6856374 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature