Parental childhood factors as mediators of multigenerational socioeconomic and psychosocial risks: A cohort study of three generations

Abstract

Previous research has begun to unravel the mechanisms by which multiple factors in the parental generation link grandparental socioeconomic disadvantages to grandchild psychiatric disorders. This study aims to further disentangle such multigenerational mechanisms by exploring the role of parental childhood factors. We utilized a three-generational cohort study design with data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study. The sample included 2,708 individuals born in 1953 (parental generation, G1), their 5,416 parents (grandparental generation, G0), and 5,967 children (grandchild generation, G2). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we analyzed the mediating role of G1 protective factors during childhood (i.e., high family relationship quality, positive parenting styles, high educational performance, positive peer relationships) and G1 adult psychosocial disadvantages (i.e., single parenthood, psychiatric disorders, and criminality) in the association between G0 socioeconomic disadvantages (i.e., low income, non-employment, and overcrowding) and G2 psychiatric disorders (i.e., measured as hospitalizations due to mental and behavioral disorders between ages 18 and 30). The association between G0 socioeconomic disadvantages and G2 psychiatric disorders was mediated through the paths from G1 childhood family relationship quality, peer relationships, and educational performance to G1 adult psychosocial disadvantages. Peer relationships and educational performance in childhood mattered more among G1 fathers, whereas family relationship quality in childhood played a more important role among G1 mothers. The findings indicate that parental childhood factors – specifically family relationship quality, peer relationships, and educational performance – serve as important resilience resources in disrupting the multigenerational transmission of disadvantages, with implications for mental health of future generations.