title: Parent-Offspring Transmission of Internalizing and Sensory over-Responsivity Symptoms in Adolescence.
abstract: Reactions to sensory experiences are an overlooked correlate of affective regulation, despite the importance of bodily states on psychological processes. Children who display sensory over-responsivity (i.e., adverse reactions to typical sensations) are at greater risk for developing affective disorders. We extended this literature to adolescents and their middle-aged parents. Participants in a birth record-based study of families of adolescent twins (N = 506 families; 1012 adolescents; 53% female) completed a subset of items from the Adult Sensory Profile. We derived adolescent self-reported internalizing disorder symptoms and parent affective diagnoses from structured diagnostic interviews. Structural equation models tested the relationship between parent sensory over-responsivity symptoms and affective diagnoses and their adolescent offspring's sensory over-responsivity and internalizing symptoms. Adolescent sensory over-responsivity symptoms were correlated with internalizing disorder symptoms. Parents with a diagnosis of anxiety or depression (mothers only) reported more frequent SOR symptoms than parents without a diagnosis. Parent depression was significantly related to adolescent sensory over-responsivity symptoms, over and above parent sensory over-responsivity symptoms (β = 0.26, p < 0.001 for mothers; β = 0.13, p = 0.004 for fathers). Father alcohol abuse/dependency also predicted offspring sensory over-responsivity symptoms. Offspring of parents with affective disorders were at additional risk for sensory dysregulation via parents' influence on offspring internalizing problems.
authors.affiliation: Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. cavanhulle@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Van Hulle
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lemery-Chalfant
authors.affiliation: Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.|Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hill Goldsmith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D000066553:Problem Behavior; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Adolescent; Anxiety; Parents; Sensory over-responsivity