The Kids Are Not Alright - Intergenerational Transmission of Psychopathology and Relationships across Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Abstract

Is it true that children turn into their parents? Adolescents often show characteristics and behaviors that resemble those of their parents. Particularly psychopathological symptoms and relationship behaviors are often observed to inadvertently continue from one generation to the next. But how are symptoms and behaviors between parents and adolescents transmitted during adolescence? And how can we explain possible intergenerational transmission – or non-transmission? The present dissertation sought to answer these questions. Using four longitudinal, multimethod studies, it provides insights into the intergenerational transmission of psychopathological symptoms and relationship quality across adolescence and young adulthood. The three overarching aims were: 1) to investigate how psychopathological symptoms and relationship behaviors are transmitted across adolescence and young adulthood, 2) to shed light on the direction of transmission effects between parents and adolescents, and 3) to provide insights into potential mechanisms involved in intergenerational transmission processes. The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of adolescence as a period in which intergenerational transmission processes play a role. Parental and adolescent psychopathological symptoms and relationship behaviors were generally consistently associated across adolescence and to some extent even into young adulthood, with both parent and adolescent effects involved. While negative parent-child interactions might explain why problem behaviors accumulate in some families, congruency between parents and children could help to break maladaptive patterns.