Parental Depression and Divorce and Adult Children’s Well-Being: The Role of Family Unpredictability

Abstract

We examined how parental depression and divorce are associated with anxiety and depression among college students (N = 126; 83% female; 89% Caucasian). Participants provided retrospective recollections of their parents’ depression, and they completed The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale and portions of the Trait Anxiety Scale. In addition, they filled out the brief Marlow-Crowe Social Desirability Scale and the Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale. Parental depression related to students’ depression, and aspects of family unpredictability (unpredictable money, maternal discipline, and paternal nurturance) mediated this relationship. Parental depression also related to students’ anxiety, however family unpredictability was not a strong mediator of this relationship. Finally, students reporting parental divorce did not report elevated depression or anxiety scores, although parental divorce did relate to perceptions of parental depression. We discuss implications and ideas for treatment and future research.