Parental lack of care and overprotection. Longitudinal associations with DSM-III-R disorders.
BACKGROUND
This study served to replicate and extend the findings from the National Comorbidity Survey [Enns MW, Cox BJ, Clara I (2002) Psychol Med 32:997-1008], in examining associations between recalled parental bonding and the prevalence and incidence of mental disorders in adulthood.


METHODS
Data were used from 4,796 adults aged 18-64, who had participated in three waves (i.e., 1996, 1997, and 1999) of a large-scale Dutch epidemiological study.


RESULTS
Parental lack of care and overprotection were significantly associated with both prevalence and incidence of DSM-III-R disorders. However, the impact of parental bonding was modest, explaining only 1-5% of the variance in the occurrence and onset of psychopathology. Chi-square tests demonstrated there were no differences between the impact of paternal and maternal rearing behaviors on mental disorders, or between lack of care and overprotection in the prediction of mental disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, individuals' recollections of parental lack of care and overprotection appear to be non-specifically, modestly related to the prevalence and incidence of DSM-III-R disorders in adults from the general population. Future research may examine indirect or mediated links between parental bonding and (clinical diagnoses of) mental health problems.
Overbeek
Geertjan
G
Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500, HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. g.overbeek@pwo.ru.nl
ten Have
Margreet
M
Vollebergh
Wilma
W
de Graaf
Ron
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors