ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on broad considerations regarding the nature of parental psychopathology. Measurement of parental psychopathology in the reviewed studies falls generally into two approaches: diagnostic interview and psychiatric symptom questionnaires. The nature of parental psychopathology inevitably varies in terms of timing, frequency, duration, severity, chronicity, symptom constellation, and comorbidity. Borderline personality disorder has received the greatest attention in literature focusing on parental personality disturbances. Evidence of a genetic factor linked to the transmission of depression has been found in comparisons of individuals with specific disorders with and without family histories of that disorder. Low maternal warmth and positivity associated with maternal anxiety disorder also shows positive associations with child anxiety. Cortisol seems to play a key role in the biological mechanisms linking parental psychopathology to children’s adjustment. Implications for children include medical issues at birth, cortisol abnormalities, and neurobiological development problems.
