Negative parenting modulates the association between mother’s DNA methylation profiles and adult offspring depression

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether the relationship between mothers’ DNA methylation profiles and offspring's depression is modulated by negative parenting. The participants were 35 African‐American mother–offspring dyads. Young adult offspring (19 females; age = 17–29.5 years) were assessed on depressive symptoms, and mothers (36–51 years) were assessed on negative parenting. Methyl‐binding domain (MBD) sequencing was used to assay genome‐wide DNA methylation in peripheral T lymphocytes. Controlling for the effect of offspring's DNA methylation, mothers' DNA methylation was positively associated with offspring's depression. Hypermethylation of a subset of the epigenetic markers was associated with increased negative parenting. Negative parenting was positively correlated with offspring's depression as well, suggesting that negative parenting may be a modulator between the mother's epigenome and offspring's depression. This study is one of the first investigations of the modulating role of parenting behavior in associations between the mother's epigenome and offspring's depression.

Neuroendocrine and autonomic stress systems activity in young adults raised by mothers with mental health and substance abuse problems: A prospective cohort study

“…The overarching objective of this project was to study the vulnerability and resilience among children of low-income mothers with major mental illnesses and substance abuse. A detailed recruitment protocol has been presented elsewhere (Barbot et al, 2014(Barbot et al, , 2013Bick et al, 2012;Hein et al, 2018Hein et al, , 2019Luthar & Cushing, 1999;Luthar & Sexton, 2007;Naumova et al, 2016). Briefly, mothers were recruited from community settings, such as churches, neighborhood stores, primary healthcare facilities, and outpatient treatment facilities for mental health problems (mainly depression and anxiety) and substance abuse.…”

Genetics and Learning: How the Genes Influence Educational Attainment

“…Similarly, childhood neglect has been reported to correlate with specific epigenetic signatures that have implications for psychiatric vulnerability (Cecil et al, 2016). To cite another case, it has recently been demonstrated that negative parenting (that is, parenting based on little emotional warmth, indifference, neglect, rejection or hostility) correlates with specific epigenetic modifications in a set of genes that can favor depression later in life (Hein et al, 2018).…”

Major depression, temperament, and social support as psychosocial mechanisms of the intergenerational transmission of parenting styles

“…Previous work has revealed that experiences of low care and high overprotection provided by parents during childhood have consistently disposed to the onset of major depression (Gotlib, Mount, Cordy, & Whiffen, 1988; Mackinnon, Henderson, & Andrews, 1993; Parker, 1990, 1995; Patton, Coffery, Posterino, Carlin, & Wolfe, 2001; Sato, Uehara, Narita, Sakado, & Fujii, 2000), including its development and maintenance (Alloy, Abramson, Smith, Gibb, & Neeren, 2006; Hein et al, 2019), as well as a number of symptoms in sub-clinically depressed adults (Canetti, Bachar, Galili-Weisstub, De-Nour, & Shalev, 1997). Moreover, ample evidence has suggested that depression is robustly linked with a range of social deficits, including poor caregiving (Lovejoy, Graczyk, O'Hare, & Neuman, 2000; Weissman, 2020).…”