Grandparental socioeconomic disadvantages and grandchild psychiatric disorders: the mediating role of parental socioeconomic and psychosocial factors

The aim of this study is to explore the association between grandparental socioeconomic disadvantages and grandchild psychiatric disorders, the role of parental socioeconomic and psychosocial factors in this association, as well as potential gender differences. We utilized a cohort study design using data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study, including 11,299 individuals born in 1953 (parental generation), their 22,598 parents (grandparental generation), and 24,707 adult children (grandchild generation). Grandparental and parental socioeconomic disadvantages, respectively, included low income, non-employment, and overcrowding. Parental psychosocial disadvantages included single parenthood, psychiatric disorders, and criminality. Psychiatric disorders in the grandchildren were reflected by hospitalizations due to mental and behavioral disorders from age 18 to 30 (1986-2019). Analyses were performed within the Structural Equation Modeling framework. We found an association between grandparental socioeconomic disadvantages and grandchild psychiatric disorders (standardized total effect 0.155, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.099-0.211), which was mediated through parental psychosocial disadvantages (standardized mediating effect 0.101, 95% CI 0.073-0.130). The mediation was more pronounced via psychosocial disadvantages among mothers than fathers. These findings indicate that psychosocial disadvantages among parents, especially mothers, reflect an important mediating mechanism, and addressing such disadvantages may help mitigate social inequalities in mental health across generations.