Parental concordance and comorbidity for psychiatric disorder and associate risks for current psychiatric symptoms and disorders in a community sample of juvenile twins

In this report we characterize associations between parental psychiatric di sorders and children's psychiatric symptoms and disorders using a populatio n-based sample of 850 twin families. Juvenile twins are aged 8-17 years and are personally interviewed about their current history of DSM-III-R conduc t, depression, oppositional-defiant, overanxious, and separation anxiety di sorders using the CAPA-C. Mothers and fathers of twins are personally inter viewed about their lifetime history of DSM-III-R alcoholism, antisocial per sonality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, panic di sorder/agoraphobia, social phobia, and simple phobia using a modified versi on of the SCID and the DIS. Generalized least squares and logistic regressi on are used to identify the juvenile symptoms and disorders that are signif icantly associated with parental psychiatric histories, The specificity of these associations is subsequently explored in a subset of families with ma ternal plus parental psychiatric histories with a prevalence > 1%. Parental depression that is not cumorbid or associated with a different spousal dis order is associated with a significantly elevated level of depression and o veranxious disorder symptoms and a significantly increased risk for overanx ious disorder. Risks are higher for both symptomatic domains in association with maternal than paternal depression, and highest in association with ma ternal plus paternal depression. Risks for other juvenile symptoms and diso rders index the comorbid and spousal histories with which parental depressi on is commonly associated. Paternal alcoholism that is not comorbid or asso ciated with a maternal disorder is not significantly associated with curren t psychiatric symptoms or disorders in offspring. Risks for oppositional-de fiant or conduct symptoms/disorders in the offspring of alcoholic parents i ndex parental comorbidity and/or other spousal histories.