Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Parenting practices in childhood and depression, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: a systematic review

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Parenting practices represent important and modifiable factors for health and wellbeing in children and adolescents; however, strength and quality of studies examining relationships between parenting practices in childhood and risk of depression and anxiety in adolescence are unclear. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the longitudinal literature that describes these associations.

Methods

Six electronic databases were searched for articles published through March 2018. Eligible articles were published in the English language, peer-reviewed, and had prospective cohort study designs. Articles eligible for inclusion examined positive and negative parenting practices of parents and/or guardians when study subjects were between 0 and 9 years of age, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms when subjects were between 10 and 19 years of age. Heterogeneity of included articles precluded meta-analysis: findings were reported narratively.

Results

4558 references were screened for inclusion, and 19 articles met eligibility criteria and were included for review. Ten articles examined positive parenting practices, and four demonstrated statistically significant associations between positive parenting practices and lower risk of adolescent depression, anxiety, and/or internalizing symptoms. Fifteen articles examined negative parenting practices, and five demonstrated significant associations between negative parenting practices and higher risk of adolescent depression, anxiety, and/or internalizing symptoms.

Conclusion

This review demonstrates that the evidence base supporting longitudinal associations between parenting practices in childhood and adolescent symptoms of depression, anxiety, and internalizing problems is inconsistent. Findings from this review highlight limitations of the existing literature and identify understudied parenting dimensions that require further investigation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Arnett JJ (2000) Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am Psychol 55:469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Arnett JJ (2001) Conceptions of the transition to adulthood: perspectives from adolescence through midlife. J Adult Dev 8:133–143. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026450103225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Angold A, Rutter M (1992) Effects of age and pubertal status on depression in a large clinical sample 4:5–28. Dev Psychopathol. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579400005538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Merikangas KR, He J, Burstein M et al (2010) Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 49:980–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAAC.2010.05.017

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Costello EJ, Mustillo S, Erkanli A et al (2003) Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60:837–844. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.60.8.837

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Johnson D, Dupuis G, Piche J et al (2018) Adult mental health outcomes of adolescent depression: a systematic review. Depress Anxiety 35:700–716. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22777

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Pine DS, Cohen P, Gurley D et al (1998) The risk for early-adulthood anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents with anxiety and depressive disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 55:56–64. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.55.1.56

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Clayborne ZM, Varin M, Colman I (2018) Systematic review and meta-analysis: adolescent depression and long-term psychosocial outcomes. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 58:72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.07.896

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Last CG, Hansen C, Franco N (1997) Anxious children in adulthood: a prospective study of adjustment. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:645–652. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199705000-00015

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Garber J (2006) Depression in children and adolescents: linking risk research and prevention. Am J Prev Med 31:104–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2006.07.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rapee RM, Schniering CA, Hudson JL (2009) Anxiety disorders during childhood and adolescence: origins and treatment. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 27:311–341. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. O’Connor TG, Heron J, Glover V (2002) Antenatal anxiety predicts child behavioral/emotional problems independently of postnatal depression. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 41:1470–1477. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200212000-00019

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ramchandani P, Stein A, Evans J, O’Connor TG (2005) Paternal depression in the postnatal period and child development: a prospective population study. Lancet 365:2201–2205. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66778-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Dehon C, Weems CF (2010) Emotional development in the context of conflict: the indirect effects of interparental violence on children. J Child Fam Stud 19:287–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9296-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Shelton KH, Harold GT (2008) Interparental conflict, negative parenting, and children’s adjustment: bridging links between parents’ depression and children’s psychological distress. J Fam Psychol 22:712–724. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013515

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Beardslee WR, Gladstone TRG, Wright EJ, Cooper AB (2003) A family-based approach to the prevention of depressive symptoms in children at risk: evidence of parental and child change. Pediatrics 112:e119–e131. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.112.2.e119

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Weisz JR, Sandler IN, Durlak JA, Anton BS (2005) Promoting and protecting youth mental health through evidence-based prevention and treatment. Am Psychol 60:628–648. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.628

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Sandler IN, Schoenfelder EN, Wolchik SA, MacKinnon DP (2011) Long-term impact of prevention programs to promote effective parenting: lasting effects but uncertain processes. Annu Rev Psychol 62:299–329. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131619

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Yap MBH, Morgan AJ, Cairns K et al (2016) Parents in prevention: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of parenting interventions to prevent internalizing problems in children from birth to age 18. Clin Psychol Rev 50:138–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.10.003

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhou Q, Sandler IN, Millsap RE et al (2008) Mother-child relationship quality and effective discipline as mediators of the 6-year effects of the New Beginnings Program for children from divorced families. J Consult Clin Psychol 76:579–594. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.76.4.579

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. McClain DB, Wolchik SA, Winslow E et al (2010) Developmental cascade effects of the New Beginnings Program on adolescent adaptation outcomes. Dev Psychopathol 22:771–784. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. McLeod BD, Weisz JR, Wood JJ (2007) Examining the association between parenting and childhood depression: a meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 27:986–1003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.03.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. McLeod BD, Wood JJ, Weisz JR (2007) Examining the association between parenting and childhood anxiety: a meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 27:155–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.09.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Yap MBH, Pilkington PD, Ryan SM, Jorm AF (2014) Parental factors associated with depression and anxiety in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 156:8–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.11.007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Yap MBH, Jorm AF (2015) Parental factors associated with childhood anxiety, depression, and internalizing problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 175:424–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.050

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Childs AW, Fite PJ, Moore TM et al (2014) Bidirectional associations between parenting behavior and child callous-unemotional traits: does parental depression moderate this link? J Abnorm Child Psychol 42:1141–1151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9856-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Pardini DA, Fite PJ, Burke JD (2008) Bidirectional associations between parenting practices and conduct problems in boys from childhood to adolescence: the moderating effect of age and African-American ethnicity. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36:647–662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9162-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Ha T, Overbeek G, Vermulst AA, Engels RCME (2009) Marital quality, parenting, and adolescent internalizing problems: a three-wave longitudinal study. J Fam Psychol 23:263–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. van der Bruggen CO, Stams GJJM, Bögels SM (2008) Research review: the relation between child and parent anxiety and parental control: a meta-analytic review. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49:1257–1269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01898.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Möller EL, Nikolić M, Majdandžić M, Bögels SM (2016) Associations between maternal and paternal parenting behaviors, anxiety and its precursors in early childhood: a meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 45:17–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.03.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Hong RY, Cheung MWL (2015) The structure of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety: evidence for a common core etiologic process based on a meta-analytic review. Clin Psychol Sci 3:892–912. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702614553789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Paulus DJ, Talkovsky AM, Heggeness LF, Norton PJ (2015) Beyond negative affectivity: a hierarchical model of global and transdiagnostic vulnerabilities for emotional disorders. Cogn Behav Ther 44:389–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2015.1017529

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Dozois DJA, Seeds PM, Collins KA (2009) Transdiagnostic approaches to the prevention of depression and anxiety. J Cogn Psychother 23:44–59. https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.23.1.44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Newby JM, McKinnon A, Kuyken W et al (2015) Systematic review and meta-analysis of transdiagnostic psychological treatments for anxiety and depressive disorders in adulthood. Clin Psychol Rev 40:91–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.06.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Norton PJ, Paulus DJ (2016) Toward a unified treatment for emotional disorders: update on the science and practice. Behav Ther 47:854–868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2015.07.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Ballash N, Leyfer O, Buckley AF, Woodruff-Borden J (2006) Parental control in the etiology of anxiety. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 9:113–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-006-0007-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Esbjørn BH, Bender PK, Reinholdt-Dunne ML et al (2012) The development of anxiety disorders: considering the contributions of attachment and emotion regulation. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 15:129–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-011-0105-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Pinquart M (2017) Associations of parenting dimensions and styles with internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. Marriage Fam Rev 53:613–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2016.1247761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J et al (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 6:e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Pozzi E, Simmons JG, Bousman CA et al (2020) The influence of maternal parenting style on the neural correlates of emotion processing in children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 59:274–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAAC.2019.01.018

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Schwartz OS, Byrne ML, Simmons JG et al (2014) Parenting during early adolescence and adolescent-onset major depression: a 6-year prospective longitudinal study. Clin Psychol Sci 2:272–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702613505531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. World Health Organization (2011) Adolescent development. https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/dev/en/. Accessed 6 Mar 2019

  43. World Health Organization (2020) Early child development. https://www.who.int/topics/early-child-development/en/. Accessed 31 Jul 2020

  44. Rose J, Roman N, Mwaba K, Ismail K (2018) The relationship between parenting and internalizing behaviours of children: a systematic review. Early Child Dev Care 188:1468–1486. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1269762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Veritas Health Innovation (2019) Covidence systematic review software. https://www.covidence.org

  46. Wells GA, Shea B, O’Connell D et al. (2011) The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. https://www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/oxford.asp. Accessed 7 Mar 2019

  47. Higgins J, Green S (2011) Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions Version 5.1.0. The Cochrane Collaboration

  48. Stang A (2010) Critical evaluation of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for the assessment of the quality of nonrandomized studies in meta-analyses. Eur J Epidemiol 25:603–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-010-9491-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Davis S, Votruba-Drzal E, Silk JS (2015) Trajectories of internalizing symptoms from early childhood to adolescence: associations with temperament and parenting. Soc Dev 24:501–520. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Kuhlman KR, Olson SL, Lopez-Duran NL (2014) Predicting developmental changes in internalizing symptoms: examining the interplay between parenting and neuroendocrine stress reactivity. Dev Psychobiol 56:908–923. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21166

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Feng X, Keenan K, Hipwell AE et al (2009) Longitudinal associations between emotion regulation and depression in preadolescent girls: moderation by the caregiving environment. Dev Psychol 45:798–808. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014617

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Williams CJ, Kessler D, Fernyhough C et al (2016) The association between maternal-reported responses to infant crying at 4 weeks and 6 months and offspring depression at 18: a longitudinal study. Arch Womens Ment Health 19:401–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-015-0592-2

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Bellamy S, Hardy C (2015) Factors predicting depression across multiple domains in a national longitudinal sample of Canadian youth. J Abnorm Child Psychol 43:633–643. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9940-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Duchesne S, Larose S, Vitaro F, Tremblay RE (2010) Trajectories of anxiety in a population sample of children: clarifying the role of children’s behavioral characteristics and maternal parenting. Dev Psychopathol 22:361–373. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579410000118

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Ginsburg GS, Grover RL, Ialongo N (2005) Parenting behaviors among anxious and non-anxious mothers: relation with concurrent and long-term child outcomes. Child Fam Behav Ther 26:23–41. https://doi.org/10.1300/j019v26n04_02

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Nikitopoulos J, Zohsel K, Blomeyer D et al (2014) Are infants differentially sensitive to parenting? Early maternal care, DRD4 genotype and externalizing behavior during adolescence. J Psychiatr Res 59:53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.08.012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Lansford JE, Malone PS, Stevens KI et al (2006) Developmental trajectories of externalizing and internalizing behaviors: factors underlying resilience in physically abused children. Dev Psychopathol 18:35–55. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579406060032

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. van der Voort A, Linting M, Juffer F et al (2014) The development of adolescents’ internalizing behavior: longitudinal effects of maternal sensitivity and child inhibition. J Youth Adolesc 43:528–540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9976-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Baumrind D, Larzelere RE, Owens EB (2010) Effects of preschool parents’ power assertive patterns and practices on adolescent development. Parenting 10:157–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295190903290790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Leve LD, Kim HK, Pears KC (2005) Childhood temperament and family environment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing trajectories from ages 5 to 17. J Abnorm Child Psychol 33:505–520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-6734-7

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  61. Lewis-Morrarty E, Degnan KA, Chronis-Tuscano A et al (2012) Maternal over-control moderates the association between early childhood behavioral inhibition and adolescent social anxiety symptoms. J Abnorm Child Psychol 40:1363–1373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9663-2

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Cecil CAM, Barker ED, Jaffee SR, Viding E (2012) Association between maladaptive parenting and child self-control over time: cross-lagged study using a monozygotic twin difference design. Br J Psychiatry 201:291–297. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.111.107581

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Ezpeleta L, Granero R, de la Osa N, Domènech JM (2008) Risk factor clustering for psychopathology in socially at-risk Spanish children. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:559–568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0312-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Feehan M, McGee R, Stanton WR, Silva PA (1991) Strict and inconsistent discipline in childhood: consequences for adolescent mental health. Br J Clin Psychol 30:325–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1991.tb00953.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Hannigan LJ, McAdams TA, Eley TC (2017) Developmental change in the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and the home environment: results from a longitudinal, genetically informative investigation. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip 58:787–797. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Mesman J, Koot HM (2001) Early preschool predictors of preadolescent internalizing and externalizing DSM-IV diagnoses. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 40:1029–1036. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200109000-00011

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Prinzie P, Van Harten LV, Deković M et al (2014) Developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive problems during the transition from childhood to adolescence: personality × parenting interactions. Dev Psychopathol 26:1077–1092. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414000510

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Bögels SM, Bamelis L, van der Bruggen C (2008) Parental rearing as a function of parent’s own, partner’s, and child’s anxiety status: fathers make the difference. Cogn Emot 22:522–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930801886706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Williams LR, Degnan KA, Perez-Edgar KE et al (2009) Impact of behavioral inhibition and parenting style on internalizing and externalizing problems from early childhood through adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 37:1063–1075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9331-3

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Maccoby EE (1992) The role of parents in the socialization of children: an historical overview. Dev Psychol 28:1006–1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.28.6.1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Johnston D, Propper C, Pudney S, Shields M (2014) Child mental health and educational attainment: multiple observers and the measurement error problem. J Appl Econom 29(6):880–900. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.2359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Shelton KK, Frick PJ, Wootton J (1996) Assessment of parenting practices in families of elementary school-age children. J Clin Child Psychol 25:317–329. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2503_8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Bornstein MH (2013) Parenting and child mental health: a cross-cultural perspective. World Psychiatry 12:258–265. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20071

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  74. Hill NE, Bush KR (2001) Relationships between parenting environment and children’s mental health among African American and European American mothers and children. J Marriage Fam 63:954–966. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00954.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Finkelstein JAS, Donenberg GR, Martinovich Z (2001) Maternal control and adolescent depression: ethnic differences among clinically referred girls. J Youth Adolesc 30:155–171. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010341724157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Varela RE, Sanchez-Sosa JJ, Biggs BK, Luis TM (2009) Parenting strategies and socio-cultural influences in childhood anxiety: Mexican, Latin American descent, and European American families. J Anxiety Disord 23:609–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.01.012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Pachter LM, Auinger P, Palmer R, Weitzman M (2006) Do parenting and the home environment, maternal depression, neighborhood, and chronic poverty affect child behavioral problems differently in different racial-ethnic groups? Pediatrics 117:1329–1338. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-1784

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (#SRG-0-031-16) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (#A01-151538). Ian Colman is supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme (project number 262700). The sources of funding had no role in study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian Colman.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (PDF 242 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Clayborne, Z.M., Kingsbury, M., Sampasa-Kinyaga, H. et al. Parenting practices in childhood and depression, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: a systematic review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 56, 619–638 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01956-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01956-z

Keywords

Navigation