Mother's Personality and Child's Mental Health

Children of mothers with dysfunctional personality traits at increased risk of mental health problems

• Mothers with dysfunctional personality traits increase the risk of their children developing psychological issues later in life
• Researchers from the universities of Bristol, Exeter, and King’s College London and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development studied over 8,000 parents and children in Children of the 90s
• Children of mothers with emotional and relationship difficulties were more at risk of depression, anxiety, and self-harm in their late teens than their peers
• The risk to the child's mental health increased with the number of personality traits the mother had, such as sensation-seeking, impulsiveness, anger, suspicion, or detachment
• If the mother had high scores on three or more of these personality traits, her child was more than twice as likely to be at risk of depression compared to teenagers whose mothers had low scores on these traits
• The risk was present regardless of whether or not the mother suffered from depression herself
• The risk remained even when other key factors associated with such personality traits were considered, including the mother’s education, age, single parent status, binge drinking, smoking, family income, financial problems, and any history of partner violence
• The same risk of depression was not found when fathers had these personality traits, suggesting that fathers influence their children differently to mothers
• The study is the first to assess the impact of a mother’s personality on her child’s future mental health in such a large group of people studied for a long period of time
• The researchers analysed data gathered from parents about their own personality when their children were aged nine and compared it to information gathered about their children’s mental health at the age of 18
• The personality traits assessed are related to emotional and relationship difficulties, which can make responding to the child’s emotions and building a consistent, secure relationship with them more difficult
• The mother's impulsive behavior may cause the child to feel insecure and lacking boundaries, which can lead to depression and anxiety, and harsh or hostile behaviors can cause the child to feel stressed and have problems managing their emotions, leading to self-harm, depression, and anxiety.