Childhood relationships, adult coping resources and depression

Underlying the design of most adult epidemiologic stress-distress studies is the assumption that only social factors deriving from individuals' current environments or very recent pasts impact on their mental health status. The present study examined the link between perceived early parent-child relations and adult depressive symptomatology. It was hypothesized that (1) perceived dysfunctional early parent-child relationships correlate with adult depressive symptomatology and (2) adult internal personality resources (level of autonomy-dependency and internal-external locus of control) mediate this relationship. A cohort of students beginning medical school was administered self-report questionnaires measuring the above variables (final N = 153, 73% response rate). Using correlational and regression analysis, hypothesis 1 was supported and hypothesis 2 was partially supported. The authors discuss alternative causal interpretations of the correlational findings, and recommend future studies of the social origins of psychopathology which embrace a total life cycle model. These studies should ideally reflect interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and encompass long-term prospective research designs or greater attention to the construction and validation of instruments for improved retrospective assessments.