Specific domains of early parenting, their heritability and differential association with adolescent behavioural and emotional disorders and academic achievement

TY - JOUR

T1 - Specific domains of early parenting, their heritability and differential association with adolescent behavioural and emotional disorders and academic achievement

AU - Culpin, Iryna

AU - Bornstein, Marc H.

AU - Putnick, Diane L.

AU - Sallis, Hannah

AU - Lee, Ruby

AU - Cordero, Miguel

AU - Rajyaguru, Priya

AU - Kordas, Katarzyna

AU - Cadman, Tim

AU - Pearson, Rebecca M.

N1 - Funding Information: We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant Ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website (https://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). This research was specifically funded by the European Research Commission awarded to Dr Pearson (Grant Ref: 758813 MHINT). Dr. Culpin is funded by the Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences (Grant Ref: 212664/Z/18/Z). Professor Bornstein was funded by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH/NICHD, USA and an International Research Fellowship at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London, UK, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement no: 695300-HKADeC-ERC-2015-AdG). Dr. Cadman received funding from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no.: 733206, LIFE-CYCLE project. The UK Medical Research Council supports the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MC_UU_12013/4). This study was also supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. This publication is the work of the authors who will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research. Funding Information: We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant Ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( https://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf ). This research was specifically funded by the European Research Commission awarded to Dr Pearson (Grant Ref: 758813 MHINT). Dr. Culpin is funded by the Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences (Grant Ref: 212664/Z/18/Z). Professor Bornstein was funded by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH/NICHD, USA and an International Research Fellowship at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London, UK, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement no: 695300-HKADeC-ERC-2015-AdG). Dr. Cadman received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no.: 733206, LIFE-CYCLE project. The UK Medical Research Council supports the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MC_UU_12013/4). This study was also supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. This publication is the work of the authors who will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, The Author(s).

PY - 2020/10/1

Y1 - 2020/10/1

N2 - Variations in parenting across large populations have rarely been described. It also remains unclear which specific domains of parenting are important for which specific offspring developmental outcomes. This study describes different domains of early parenting behaviours and their genetic heritability, then determines the extent to which specific domains of parenting are associated with later offspring outcomes. Parenting behaviours (birth to 3 years) were extracted from self-reported questionnaires administered to 12,358 mothers from the UK-based birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and modelled as a latent factor using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Genetic heritability and correlations between parenting factors were estimated using genome-wide complex trait analysis. Three parenting factors were derived: parental enjoyment, conflictual relationships and stimulation; all showed low genetic heritability. There was no evidence of association between parental enjoyment and offspring behavioural disorders and depressed mood. Stimulation was associated with better English grades (standardised β = 0.195, p ' 0.001) and enjoyment was negatively associated with English grades (β = − 0.244, p = ' 0.001). Conflictual relationships were associated with higher risk of offspring behavioural disorders (β = 0.228, p = 0.010) and depressed mood (β = 0.077, p = 0.005). Higher enjoyment reduced the association between conflict and behavioural problems (interaction term β = 0.113, p ' 0.001). We found evidence for predictive specificity of early parenting domains for offspring outcomes in adolescence. Early stimulation, unlike enjoyment, promoted later educational achievement. Conflictual relationships were associated with greater risk of behavioural problems, buffered by increased enjoyment. These findings hold implications for parenting interventions, guiding their focus according to the specificity of parenting domains and their long-term outcomes in children.

AB - Variations in parenting across large populations have rarely been described. It also remains unclear which specific domains of parenting are important for which specific offspring developmental outcomes. This study describes different domains of early parenting behaviours and their genetic heritability, then determines the extent to which specific domains of parenting are associated with later offspring outcomes. Parenting behaviours (birth to 3 years) were extracted from self-reported questionnaires administered to 12,358 mothers from the UK-based birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and modelled as a latent factor using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Genetic heritability and correlations between parenting factors were estimated using genome-wide complex trait analysis. Three parenting factors were derived: parental enjoyment, conflictual relationships and stimulation; all showed low genetic heritability. There was no evidence of association between parental enjoyment and offspring behavioural disorders and depressed mood. Stimulation was associated with better English grades (standardised β = 0.195, p ' 0.001) and enjoyment was negatively associated with English grades (β = − 0.244, p = ' 0.001). Conflictual relationships were associated with higher risk of offspring behavioural disorders (β = 0.228, p = 0.010) and depressed mood (β = 0.077, p = 0.005). Higher enjoyment reduced the association between conflict and behavioural problems (interaction term β = 0.113, p ' 0.001). We found evidence for predictive specificity of early parenting domains for offspring outcomes in adolescence. Early stimulation, unlike enjoyment, promoted later educational achievement. Conflictual relationships were associated with greater risk of behavioural problems, buffered by increased enjoyment. These findings hold implications for parenting interventions, guiding their focus according to the specificity of parenting domains and their long-term outcomes in children.

KW - Academic achievement

KW - Adolescence

KW - Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

KW - Behavioural disorders

KW - Parenting

KW - Specificity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075883418&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s00787-019-01449-8

DO - 10.1007/s00787-019-01449-8

M3 - Article

C2 - 31786662

AN - SCOPUS:85075883418

SN - 1018-8827

VL - 29

SP - 1401

EP - 1409

JO - European child & adolescent psychiatry

JF - European child & adolescent psychiatry

IS - 10

ER -