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Adverse parenting as a risk factor in the occurrence of anxiety disorders

A study in six European countries

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of the study was to test the homogeneity of the association between adverse parenting and anxiety disorders within these disorders as well as among six European countries.

Method

Based on data from 8,232 respondents (part II sample) originating from the European study of the epidemiology of mental disorders (ESEMeD), we examined the association between three dimensions of parental rearing (care, overprotection, authoritarianism) measured by a short form of the parental bonding instrument (PBI) and anxiety disorders by computing one logistic regression model per disorder.

Results

A similar pattern of recalled parenting behaviour across the four anxiety disorders assessed was found, with care and overprotection having the strongest associations. There were only minor country-specific variations of this pattern.

Conclusion

Our results suggest an association between adverse parenting and the risk of anxiety disorders in particular as well as psychiatric disorders in general that is rather non-disorder specific.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the European Commission (Contract QLG5-1999-01042); the Piemont Region (Italy), Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain (FIS 00/0028), Ministerio de Ciencia Y Tecnologia, Spain (SAF 2000-158-CE), Department de Sanitat, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain, other local agencies and by an unrestricted educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline. ESEMeD is carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey initiative. We thank the WMH staff for assistance with instrumentation fieldwork, and data analysis. These activities were supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the US Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, and R01 DA016558), the Fogarty International Center (FIRCA R01-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, Eli Lilly and Company, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Economics Research Unit, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 20, 04317, Leipzig, Germany

    Dirk Heider

  2. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Herbert Matschinger, Sebastian Bernert, Sandra Dietrich & Matthias C. Angermeyer

  3. Health Services Research Unit, Institut Municipal d’Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Alonso

  4. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Leicesterm, Leicester, UK

    Traolach S. Brugha

  5. Dept. of Psychiatry, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium

    Ronny Bruffaerts

  6. Dept. of Mental Health, AUSL Città di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Giovanni de Girolamo

Authors
  1. Dirk Heider
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  2. Herbert Matschinger
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  3. Sebastian Bernert
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  4. Jordi Alonso
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  5. Traolach S. Brugha
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  6. Ronny Bruffaerts
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  7. Giovanni de Girolamo
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  8. Sandra Dietrich
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  9. Matthias C. Angermeyer
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Consortia

The ESEMeD/MHEDEA 2000 investigators

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dirk Heider.

Additional information

*The ESEMeD/MHEDEA 2000 Investigators are: J. Alonso; M. Angermeyer; S. Bernert, R. Bruffaerts, T. S. Brugha; G. de Girolamo; R. de Graaf; K. Demyttenaere; I. Gasquet; J.M. Haro; Steven J. Katz; R.C. Kessler; V. Kovess; J.P. Lépine; J. Ormel; G. Polidori, and G. Vilagut. Additional project investigators: J. Almansa; S. Arbabzadeh-Bouchez; J. Autonell; M. Bernal; M.A. Buist-Bouwman; M. Codony; A. Domingo-Salvany; M. Ferrer; S.S. Joo; M. Martínez-Alonso; F. Mazzi; Z. Morgan; P. Morosini; C. Palacín; A. Sánchez; N. Taub; and W.A.M. Vollebergh

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Heider, D., Matschinger, H., Bernert, S. et al. Adverse parenting as a risk factor in the occurrence of anxiety disorders. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 43, 266–272 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0302-0

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