At a glance
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Parental adversity affects adolescent mental health: Teens were more likely to experience depression and anxiety if their parents faced hardship in childhood, highlighting intergenerational effects of trauma.
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Deprivation has lasting impact: Poverty and neglect had stronger and more persistent links to depression than threat-based experiences like bullying or violence.
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Early intervention is key: Addressing parental trauma and supporting children in deprived environments from early adolescence could reduce long-term mental health risks.
A new study published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences has found that adolescents are more likely to experience depression and anxiety if their parents faced adversity during their own childhoods. The research also shows that children exposed to deprivation, such as poverty or neglect, are at particularly high risk, with these effects persisting throughout adolescence. Experiences involving threat, such as bullying or violence, appear to have a stronger impact at younger ages.
“There is a growing recognition that childhood maltreatment and household adversities can have long-term effects not only in one’s life course but also on the future generations,” said study author Santosh Giri, a PhD Candidate at the Rural Health Research Institute at Charles Sturt University.
The research team analysed data from over 3,000 participants in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which has followed young people from early childhood through adolescence. Parents reported their own early-life experiences, while children completed surveys measuring depression and anxiety at ages 12–13, 14–15, and 16–17.
The findings showed that nearly one in three adolescents displayed symptoms of depression by age 17, and one in ten showed symptoms of anxiety. Children whose parents had experienced at least two types of adversity were 40 per cent more likely to have depression at age 12–13 and 20 per cent more likely by age 16–17, compared to those whose parents did not.
Deprivation-related adversity had an even greater effect. Children exposed to two or more types of deprivation were twice as likely to experience depression at age 12–13, with the elevated risk continuing into later adolescence. In contrast, exposure to multiple threat-related adversities doubled depression risk at age 12–13 but did not persist into older ages.
“We were surprised to find that deprivation-related experiences such as financial strain or lack of emotional and social support had more consistent and long-lasting associations with depression than threat-related experiences like bullying or family conflict,”
said Giri. “This suggests that the chronic absence of key resources during the entire childhood may be just as damaging, or even more so, than exposure to threat.”
Girls were consistently more likely than boys to report depression and anxiety, and children from socioeconomically disadvantaged or younger-parent households faced greater risk. Giri explained: “Families with children aged 17 or younger need to consider being aware of their children’s mental health status. Our study found that the prevalence of depression rises from 11% at ages 12–13 to 30% at ages 16–17, and anxiety increases from 5% to 10% over the same period.”
He added that early intervention is vital: “This can be prevented with early intervention that begins as early as age 10 or 12. It is important to address unresolved trauma among parents, and children raised in deprived environments should be considered at risk for depression during adolescence.”
Giri noted that government and clinical support will be essential: “Some of the early life adversities, such as extreme poverty, are less modifiable with short-term interventions, while others, such as neglect, are more modifiable with family-centred parenting interventions. We suggest following a socioecological model of child health, addressing all early life deprivation,s including socio-economic harms, as well as parenting practices through multi-component interventions. State and national government spending on this is crucial.”
Looking ahead, the team plans to explore resilience factors that may protect against the intergenerational effects of trauma. “We plan to investigate resilience factors such as supportive relationships, community connectedness, and cultural identity that may help protect against the intergenerational effects of adversity. Ultimately, we hope our research will inform trauma-informed and family-centred prevention programmes that can promote wellbeing across generations,” said Giri.
He also expressed gratitude to participants, saying, “We are deeply grateful to the families who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Their continued involvement helps us better understand how early experiences shape wellbeing over time and provides vital evidence to guide public health policy and mental health services in Australia.”
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The post Why Deprivation May Be More Damaging Than Trauma in Childhood first appeared on MQ Mental Health Research.
