Psychopathology in families of children with major depressive disorders

Family psychiatric histories of 63 inpatient children with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 63 matched inpatient psychiatric controls were compared. MDD, anxiety disorders, somatization disorder and antisocial personality disorder (ASP) were significantly more common (P < 0.05) in the family histories of MDD probands. When family histories of depressed/anxious (D/A) versus depressed/behavior disordered (D/B) children were compared, the D/B group had more alcohol abuse (P < 0.05) and antisocial personality disorder (P < 0.08) than the D/A group. This report supports findings from earlier studies and suggests mood and anxiety disorders are increased in families of children with MDD.