Relationship between parental bonding and mood disorder in six European countries

The linkage between adverse parental child-rearing styles and the occurrence of mood disorders in adulthood has been investigated in a number of studies from different countries and cultural backgrounds. However, as direct cross-cultural comparisons hardly exist, little is known about cultural variations of this relationship. The European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) is a cross-sectional study in a stratified multi-stage random sample of 21,425 adults (18 years or older) from the general population of six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain). Parental child-rearing styles were measured by means of a short form of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in 8,232 of the respondents. Based on the extraction and confirmation of a three-factor model of the PBI in a previous study, the association between parental bonding and mood disorders was studied by computing hierarchical nested multiple logistic regression models. The relationship between parental child-rearing styles and mood disorders was mostly homogeneous across the six countries. The PBI dimensions maternal and paternal care had the strongest associations with mood disorders. A significant association of overprotection was observable only for the mother. There was no significant relationship between authoritarianism and the occurrence of mood disorders. In the European countries studied, the association between parental child-rearing styles and the occurrence of mood disorders appears not to be culture-dependent. It would be of interest to assess whether this also holds for the rest of Europe and non-European countries.