Childhood separation from parents with cognitive and psychopathological outcomes in adolescence

Abstract

To examine the effects of childhood parent-child separation with varying duration and form on later cognitive performance and psychopathological problems over a 6-year period, we use data from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS), which is an ongoing, prospective nationally representative study across 25 provinces in China. Of the 4033 children aged 4-10 years followed in 2012, 3522 children with complete data on separation from fathers and mothers were included. In 2018, 2560 participants were followed and interviewed to assess cognitive performance, behavioral problems as well as depressive symptoms at age 10-16 years. A total of 3522 children (mean [SD] age at baseline, 6.9 [2.0] years) were included. About 17.9% and 13.3% had separated from father and mother over 11 months or more in the year prior to the survey.

Association of early parent–child separation with depression, social and academic performance in adolescence and early adulthood: a prospective cohort study

“…This discrepancy may be attributed to the difference in the age period when children experienced parent–child separation. Contrary to existing research [ 19 , 20 ], the present study found no significant differences in the rates of parent–child separation between urban and rural areas. This unexpected finding challenges the initial assumption that rural areas would have a higher prevalence of separation.…”

“…Regarding different residence, consistent with previous study [21], the results showed that children living in urban/town areas were more likely to exhibit more severe depression if they experienced parent-child separation for more than 3 months. This finding contradicts Zhao's findings, as they found that rural children who experienced parent-child separation were more prone to depression during adolescence [19]. This discrepancy may be attributed to the difference in the age period when children experienced parent-child separation.…”

“…Consistent with our findings, Yang et al [ 21 ] also found that for children younger than 3 years old, separation from both parents significantly increased their risk of later depression. Additionally, Zhao et al [ 19 ] examined the effects of separation from both parents and separation from one parent on children's later depression and behavior. They found that separation from both parents was associated with higher levels of depression and internalizing behaviors compared to separation from one parent, which indicate a more severe impact of separation from both parents on children's later mental health.…”

“…Therefore, it is important to consider that different timings of parent–child separation may lead to variations in later life outcomes. The association between parent–child separation during the ages of 4 to 15 and depression in adolescents and young adults has been examined by Zhao et al [ 19 , 20 ]. They observed that the association was more pronounced among older individuals and those residing in rural areas.…”

Chronic morphine exposure and maternal separation induce impairments in cognition and locomotor activity of male adolescent rats

“…Mammal development can be affected by how mothers and pups interact, so shortages of maternal care can hurt the development of the central nervous system (CNS) and the mental health of pups (Courtiol et al, 2018). Long‐term parent–child separation is independently associated with cognitive defects and psychopathological challenges during adolescence (Ou‐Yang et al, 2022; Zhao et al, 2022). Maternal separation (MS) is a model of early adversity that urges durable alterations in neural development and CNS (Thomas et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2015) and is associated with enhanced anxiety and cognitive impairments (Shahraki et al, 2022).…”