Parenting style and mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2018-01, Vol.53 (1), p.11-20
• Main Authors: Eun, John David, Paksarian, Diana, He, Jian-Ping, Merikangas, Kathleen Ries
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Alcohol; Alcohol abuse; Analysis; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Control equipment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographics; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Female; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental illness; Mentally ill; Object Attachment; Original Paper; Parenting; Parenting - psychology; Parents - psychology; Psychiatry; Race; Risk Factors; Sampling methods; Sex; Sex Offenses - psychology; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Surveys; Teenagers; United States - epidemiology; Violence; Youth
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-017-1435-4

Purpose We examined associations between parenting style and past-year mental disorders in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of US adolescents and whether the associations differed by adolescent demographic characteristics. Methods The sample included 6483 adolescents aged 13–18 years who were interviewed for a full range of DSM - IV mental disorders. Parenting style was assessed by adolescent-reported maternal and paternal care and control using items from the Parental Bonding Instrument. We controlled for socio-demographics, parental history of mental disorders, stressful life events, sexual violence, inter-parental conflict, and household composition. We also tested for two-way interactions between parental care and control and adolescent age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Results In adjusted models, high maternal care was associated with lower odds of depressive, eating, and behavioral disorders, and high maternal control was associated with greater odds of depressive, anxiety, eating, and behavioral disorders. High paternal care was associated with lower odds of social phobia and alcohol abuse/dependence. High paternal control was associated with greater odds of agoraphobia and alcohol abuse/dependence but with lower odds of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Associations of maternal and paternal control with anxiety disorders and substance abuse/dependence differed by sex. High paternal care was associated with lower odds of anxiety disorders only among Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks. Conclusions Perceived parental care and control were associated with adolescent mental disorders after controlling for multiple potential confounders. Differential patterns of association were found according to adolescent sex and race/ethnicity. Findings have implications for prevention and intervention programs that incorporate familial contextual factors.