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April 12, 2026JAMA Network Open2 citationsOpen Access

Timing of Exposure to Parental Depression From Pregnancy to Young Adulthood and Mental Health in Adult Offspring

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AFAdelaide FeibelHPHung PhamVGVivette Glover

Key Points

  • This study investigates how the timing of parental depression during pregnancy and early life affects mental health symptoms in offspring into adulthood.
  • Cohort study design examining 20 years of data.
  • Analyzed associations between maternal and paternal depression and offspring psychiatric symptoms.
  • Focused on the pregnancy period as a sensitive time for maternal depression effects.
  • Distinct temporal associations were identified between both maternal and paternal depression and offspring's psychiatric symptoms.
  • Pregnancy was particularly critical in linking maternal depression to offspring psychotic experiences.
  • The findings underscore the importance of early parental mental health support.

Abstract

In this cohort study, analyses of 2 decades of data found distinct temporal associations between maternal and paternal depression and offspring psychiatric symptoms, and pregnancy was found to be a sensitive period in the association between maternal depression and offspring psychotic experiences. The findings suggest a substantial role of timing for specifying the association between parental depression and psychiatric outcomes in young adults and emphasize the need to support parental mental health from pregnancy onward.

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Cite This Study

Feibel et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69db380f4fe01fead37c62abhttps://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.4892
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