Key Points
Question
Does the likelihood of transmission of anxiety disorders from parents to children differ between same-sex and opposite-sex parent-offspring pairs?
Findings
In this cross-sectional study of 398 offspring from the general population in Canada (enriched for familial risk of mood disorders), those with a same-sex parent with an anxiety disorder were more likely to have an anxiety disorder than offspring with an opposite-sex parent with an anxiety disorder.
Meaning
This finding suggests a possible role of environmental factors, such as modeling and vicarious learning, in the transmission of anxiety from parents to children.