The relationship between parental involvement in childhood and depression in early adulthood

Positive early life experiences may help prevent depression later in life. We examined the accumulated benefit, timing, and trajectories of positive parental involvement in childhood in association with incident depression in early adulthood.

Prospectively assessed Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) data (n = 7120) were analyzed. Overall and developmental stage-specific parental involvement scores were estimated from multiple measures from birth to age 7 years. Trajectory groups of parental involvement were derived via latent class growth analysis. At 18 years, depression cases were identified with diagnostic instruments. Multiple imputation was used to handle missingness. We constructed logistic regression models with potential confounders adjusted.

Participants from trajectory groups with higher average parenting scores over time had 30% to 40% lower odds of developing depression in early adulthood than participants from the group with the lowest average parenting score over time. However, the relationship became non-significant when all covariates were adjusted. A one-unit increase in the overall parenting score corresponded to 12% lower odds of developing depression (adjusted OR=0.88 [0.79-0.98]). Protective effects on incident depression in early adulthood from parental involvement in school age (5-7 years), and not at other ages, were observed (OR=0.87 [0.77-0.99] for a one-unit increase in the parenting score at school age). However, the relationship became non-significant when all covariates were adjusted (OR=0.91 [0.80-1.03]).

Measurements of parental involvement were only based on maternal report. The study has limited generalizability to other racial/ethnic groups.

Higher level of parental involvement during childhood lowers the risk of developing depression in early adulthood. These results suggest positive early life experiences may promote mental health across the life course.