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Cognitive performance in offspring of parents with severe mental illness: a meta-analysis

Akilew A Adane1, Abel Dadi2,3, Alemken Jegnie4

  • 1Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, https://ror.org/00r4sry34Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.

Psychological Medicine
|April 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Children with parents suffering from severe mental illnesses (SMIs) face higher risks of cognitive challenges. Early interventions for families impacted by parental SMIs, especially schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are crucial for improving offspring cognitive outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Parental severe mental illnesses (SMIs) like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder (MDD) can affect child well-being.
  • Existing research on offspring cognitive and academic performance is limited in scope and methodology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis on the association between parental SMIs and offspring cognitive and academic performance.
  • To synthesize evidence across various cognitive domains and academic outcomes in offspring exposed to parental SMIs.

Main Methods:

  • Searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases.
  • Included 109 studies with 1,586,339 participants assessing parental SMIs and offspring cognitive/academic performance.
  • Calculated standardized mean differences (SMDs) using random-effects meta-analyses with robust variance estimation.

Main Results:

  • Parental schizophrenia showed strong associations with general cognition, language, and IQ deficits in offspring.
  • Parental bipolar disorder was linked to impairments in general cognition, memory, executive function, IQ, and language.
  • Parental MDD demonstrated weaker, yet significant, associations with executive function, general cognition, and language development.

Conclusions:

  • Offspring of parents with SMIs, particularly schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, exhibit an elevated risk for cognitive difficulties.
  • Population-level early intervention strategies targeting families with parental SMIs are recommended to enhance offspring cognitive performance.

Keywords:
cognitionmeta-analysisoffspringparentssevere mental illness

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