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Reciprocity Between Parental Psychopathology and Oppositional Symptoms From Preschool to Middle Childhood
Author(s) -
Antúnez Zayra,
la Osa Nuria,
Granero Roser,
Ezpeleta Lourdes
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22504
Subject(s) - psychopathology , psychology , anxiety , aggression , child psychopathology , conduct disorder , mental health , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , longitudinal study , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a common disorder in preschool children. Evidence indicates that maternal and paternal psychopathology, particularly aggressive behavior and anxious and depressed symptoms, contributes to the development of this disorder. The latest research also suggests that ODD symptoms may exacerbate the mental health problems of parents. Our aim was to establish the existence of a reciprocal association between paternal and maternal psychopathology (aggression, depression, and anxiety) and child ODD at ages 3 and 8, using a longitudinal design in a community sample of preschoolers. Method The sample included 331 children evaluated at ages 3 and 8 through questionnaires and a semistructured diagnostic interview with parents. Parents also informed about their own psychopathology. Results At 3 years of age, higher levels of ODD symptoms in girls were concurrently associated with maternal anxious and depressed symptoms and paternal aggressive behavior, and higher levels of ODD symptoms in boys were concurrently associated with maternal aggressive behavior. Longitudinally, for boys, higher levels of maternal anxious and depressed symptoms at child age 3 predicted increases in ODD symptoms from 3 to 8 years of age. In addition, higher levels of ODD symptoms in boys aged 3–8 years predicted increases in fathers’ anxious and depressive symptoms. Conclusion Children with ODD should be evaluated and treated promptly, but efforts should be extended to their parents. Mothers’ and fathers’ mental health must be explored because the psychopathologies of children and parents reciprocally affect each other.