Coping is central to the transgenerational transmission of psychopathology, yet little is known about coping strategies used by emerging adult offspring of parents with mental illness or their links to mental health. This cross-sectional online study, conducted in Germany, compared coping in 18–30-year-olds with versus without parental mental illness ( N = 139). Offspring of parents with mental illness reported more behavioral disengagement (partial η 2 = 0.03, p = 0.036) and less positive reframing (partial η 2 = 0.04, p = 0.027). Greater substance use ( b = 4.50, p = 0.031) and self-blame ( b = 7.77, p = 0.001) were associated with more psychopathology symptoms, and greater substance use ( b = −0.21, p = 0.027) and self-blame ( b = −0.28, p = 0.008) with poorer positive mental health. Findings highlight the important role of coping and its links to mental health in emerging adults of parents with mental illness and point to areas which could be targeted by interventions.
Sawitzki et al. (Wed,) studied this question.