MHM Magazine

has made an appointment for her with the school counsellor. Sophie’s case illustrates how a genetic vulnerability and environmental factors may interact to facilitate trans-generational depression. She may have inherited a tendency towards developing depression both from her mother’s biology and from the environment created by her mother’s illness. Research into transgenerational depression has examined how children are affected by a depressed parent, particularly a mother with post-partum depression. (The risks associated with parental depression may not be specific, that is, a variety of emotional problems may result, not just depression). A baby’s earliest years are critical in establishing their basic attitudes and expectations of others. The earlier their dependence on someone who is deeply depressed, the greater is the emotional damage. Depressed parents are not able to parent effectively; they are usually withdrawn and absorbed in their own difficulties. Their behaviour can also be accompanied by inappropriate anger or hostility, as the cognitive distortions that accompany depression may cause depressed parents to perceive certain behaviours to be problematic that other parents do not. Another way parental depression can impact on a child is through the social environment. Depressed parents may withdraw socially, restricting their ability to involve their children in activities outside the home, limiting the family’s social network, and denying the child other avenues of social support. Maladaptive ways of thinking may also be modelled by the parent, as depressed individuals typically hold inaccurate and negative ideas about themselves, other people, and the world around them. Emotionally healthy caregivers who respond in sensitive and appropriate ways to a child’s distress, allow children to develop internal working models of the parent (and the self) as being available and worthy of love. This becomes the blueprint for their expectations about the world and their place in it. When parents are less available or inconsistently available, children develop insecure attachment styles, which are associated with the development of depression and other psychopathology. Influences between parent and child are bi-directional. So, a difficult or demanding child may generate additional stress for an emotionally fragile parent, further diminishing their ability to parent effectively. When assessing the risk of transgenerational psychopathology, psychologists tend to think in terms of risk and protective factors. A risk factor is any characteristic (biological, psychological, family, community or cultural) that is associated with a higher likelihood of a negative outcome. A protective factor is a characteristic that may reduce a risk factor’s impact. If we look at Sophie, her risk factors include the long history of her mother’s illness, her father’s emotional absence and the fact that she is a parentified child. However, her family has a high socioeconomic status, meaning she does have access to various resources. Her success in different spheres at school gives her an area where she can achieve, thus buoying her self- esteem. She also has access to therapy, which may mean she is afforded the opportunity to do the necessary work to overcome her difficult childhood and gain the necessary insight to break the inter- generational cycle of depression when she herself becomes a parent. Despite the advances made in mental health awareness in recent years, there is still much social and cultural resistance to admitting to a problem that might make you appear weak or feeble minded. However, there have been huge advances in anti-depressant drugs in recent years, exciting research into brain functioning and new therapeutic methods developed. Perhaps more than ever before we have the tools to manage chronic mental health conditions and prevent their transmission to future generations. Depression doesn’t have to be a life sentence of misery. Intervention, the earlier the better, is key. References available on request. 24 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 2023 | Issue 5 MHM