Summary: A new long-term study confirms that children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder face a clearly elevated risk of developing mental health problems compared with peers whose parents have no psychiatric diagnosis. Over a four-year follow-up, researchers tracked 238 children aged 6–17 and identified distinct symptom patterns tied to whether a parent had schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, while also identifying family and social factors that can reduce that risk.
Children whose parents have schizophrenia were more likely to display attention difficulties, disruptive behavior disorders, and subclinical psychotic symptoms. Children of parents with bipolar disorder showed higher rates of mood-related problems, attention deficits, and subclinical bipolar symptoms. The study also found that stronger parental psychosocial functioning and a higher socioeconomic status are associated with fewer mental health problems among these high-risk offspring, highlighting the value of early monitoring and family-centered supports.
Key Facts:
- Increased Risk: Offspring of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a significantly higher likelihood of developing psychiatric disorders than offspring of parents without these conditions.
- Distinct Symptom Profiles: Parental schizophrenia is linked mainly with attention problems, disruptive behaviors and subclinical psychotic signs; parental bipolar disorder is linked more with mood disorders, attention problems and subclinical bipolar symptoms.
- Protective Factors: Better parental psychosocial functioning and higher socioeconomic status reduce the prevalence of mental health problems in at‑risk children.
Source: University of Barcelona
Overview of the study
Published in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, this study investigates how specific clinical and social characteristics of affected parents influence the mental health trajectories of their children. Coordinated by Josefina Castro Fornieles at the Mental Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERSAM) and the University of Barcelona, with collaboration from Dolores Moreno’s team at Gregorio Marañón University Hospital, the research is part of the BASYS (Bipolar and Schizophrenia Young Offspring Study) project.
Researchers enrolled 238 children at baseline: 90 offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BDoff), 41 offspring of parents with schizophrenia (SZoff), and 107 community control offspring (CCoff). After four years, 71% of the original sample was reassessed. Assessments covered parents’ and children’s psychiatric diagnoses, family socioeconomic status (SES), parents’ age at childbirth, parental psychosocial functioning, and the presence of subclinical psychotic or bipolar symptoms in the children.
Statistical analyses, including Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression, examined differences in cumulative incidence of psychiatric disorders and subclinical symptoms across groups and identified parental and child variables associated with increased or decreased risk of psychopathology.
Main findings
Both SZoff and BDoff groups showed a higher cumulative incidence of psychiatric disorders compared with community controls at four years. The types of problems, however, differed by parental diagnosis. Compared with CCoff, SZoff were at greater risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorders, and subclinical psychotic symptoms. BDoff displayed a higher risk of mood disorders, ADHD, and subclinical bipolar symptoms. These patterns suggest that intergenerational vulnerability manifests in diagnosis-specific ways.
Protective influences and implications
Higher parental psychosocial functioning and greater socioeconomic resources were associated with a lower prevalence of psychiatric problems among offspring. These findings underscore the importance of family-level and social interventions—improving parental functioning and alleviating socioeconomic stressors may reduce the expression or severity of risk in these children.
The study reinforces the need for long-term monitoring of children whose parents have severe mental illnesses and supports the development of preventive strategies tailored to high-risk families. While the results advance understanding of how vulnerability to mental disorders can be transmitted across generations, the authors emphasize that larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to determine how early subclinical symptoms predict transition to full disorders.
About this mental health and neurodevelopment research news
Author: Rosa Martínez
Source: University of Barcelona
Contact: Rosa Martínez – University of Barcelona
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access. “Effects of parental characteristics on the risk of psychopathology in offspring: a 4-year follow-up study” by Josefina Castro Fornieles et al., European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-025-02719-4
Abstract
Effects of parental characteristics on the risk of psychopathology in offspring: a 4-year follow-up study
Offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZoff) or bipolar disorder (BDoff) face approximately double the risk of developing a psychiatric disorder compared with community control offspring (CCoff). At baseline the study included 90 BDoff, 41 SZoff and 107 CCoff aged 6–17. At 4-year follow-up, 71% of the sample was assessed. Researchers evaluated parents’ and offspring’s psychiatric diagnoses, socioeconomic status, global psychosocial functioning, parents’ ages at childbirth, and offspring subclinical psychotic or bipolar symptoms.
Using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses, the study found that SZoff and BDoff had higher cumulative incidence of psychopathology than CCoff at four years. SZoff showed elevated risk for ADHD, disruptive disorders, and subclinical psychotic symptoms. BDoff showed increased risk for mood disorders, ADHD, and subclinical bipolar symptoms. Higher parental psychosocial functioning and socioeconomic status were linked to lower prevalence of offspring psychopathology. The pattern of risk appears specific to parental diagnosis. The authors call for longer follow-up and larger cohorts to clarify how early subclinical symptoms may predict progression to full psychiatric disorders.