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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Parental mental disorder and early child development.

Manfred Laucht¹, Günter Esser¹, Martin H Schmidt¹

¹Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrische Klinik, Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, P.O. Box 122120, 68072, Mannheim, Germany.

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

|June 7, 2018

Summary

Parental psychopathology, including maternal mental health issues, is linked to developmental risks in children. Infants of parents with mental health disorders showed poorer language skills and more behavioral problems.

Keywords:

Depressed Mother Early Child Development Healthy Parent Marital Discord Parental Psychopathology

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Child Psychiatry
Maternal Mental Health

Background:

Parental psychopathology represents a significant risk factor for child maladjustment.
Understanding the specific impacts of maternal versus paternal psychopathology on offspring development is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between parental psychopathology and the risk for maladjustment in first-born infants.
To examine the differential effects of maternal and paternal disorders on infant cognitive and social-emotional outcomes.

Main Methods:

Prospective longitudinal study design.
Involved 354 parents and their first-born infants.
Assessed parental psychopathology and infant outcomes at age two, including language performance and behavior problems.

Main Results:

Infants of parents with psychopathology exhibited poorer language performance and higher behavior problem scores at age two.
Maternal disorder impacted both cognitive and social-emotional infant outcomes.
Paternal disorder primarily affected infant cognitive functioning.
Maternal personality disorders or alcohol abuse were associated with the poorest infant outcomes.
Disturbed mother-infant interaction mediated the link between maternal disorder and infant maladjustment.
The observed relationships persisted after controlling for other family risk factors.

Conclusions:

Parental psychopathology significantly increases the risk for infant maladjustment, affecting cognitive and social-emotional development.
Maternal mental health plays a critical role in child development, with specific disorders posing greater risks.
Mother-infant interaction is a key mediator, highlighting the importance of the parent-child relationship.
Infant adaptation can also influence maternal mental health, suggesting a bidirectional relationship.